


And All The Meetings We Do Not See

by Randomblackberry



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Drabbles, Gen, KH3-Verse, LONG ONES, Spoilers for everything, Tags to be added, Unusual character interactions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Randomblackberry/pseuds/Randomblackberry
Summary: Current ficlet:Naminé was always smiling whenever Kairi visited- which was far less often then she should. Always smiling, showing off her new artwork with a twinkle in her eyes. As Kairi watched her, she felt rare anger bubble inside of her, rare anger on  behalf of this beautiful girl with a crayon in her hand and stars in her eyes.How dare they, Kairi thought bitterly.How dare they say she didn't have feelings?A series of ficlets detailing character interactions that we might see in the future, and some that we might not.





	1. Reminders of the Better Days (Lea & Ventus)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Ventus was seated on the edge of the roof, legs dangling off precariously. It reminded Lea of the clock tower, a little bit, where he and Roxas used to laugh and eat ice cream after a hard mission. If Lea shut down, he could imagine that this was like those old times. That Ventus was Roxas, and that they were still nobodies. Nobodies, but together all the same._

It was just the barest hint of a shadow, the slight glimpse of spiky blonde hair, of deep blue eyes, but still stuck in the haze of troubled sleep, Lea found himself not thinking, only acting, slipping out after the shadow, through the sleeping corridors and out onto the roof.

His eyes fell on the figure, the one he had spied from his bedroom door only a creak open. He saw him, and dared to hope, even as the logical part of his brain argued against it.

"Roxas?"

The blonde boy turned, confusion clear on his young face.

Something inside Lea broke as he remembered. This boy wasn't Roxas, of course he wasn't. This boy was his own person, who looked like Roxas, smiled like Roxas, laughed like Roxas yet wasn't Roxas. His name was Ventus, and they had awakened him from his ten (eleven? Twelve?) year long slumber just that morning. Lea cursed himself inwardly. How could he have forgotten? 

"Sorry," he blurted out before Ventus could answer. "I thought you were somebody else, forget it,"

Ventus was seated on the edge of the roof, legs dangling off precariously. It reminded Lea of the clock tower a little bit, where he and Roxas used to laugh and eat ice cream after a hard mission. If Lea shut down, he could imagine that this was like those old times. That Ventus was Roxas, and that they were still nobodies. Nobodies, but together all the same.

Lea made to turn away, but he barely moved a single step before the kid spoke up (and he wasn't a kid, was he? They had to be around the same age, even if he didn't look like he had aged a day in his slumber)

"Roxas, right?" Ventus turned to look Lea in the eye, and his eyes shined a brilliant blue, even in the inky black of the night. "Sora told me about him. Or a little bit at least. I'm not quite sure I understand yet..." he trailed off. "But apparently I look really like Roxas, right?"

In spite of himself, Lea felt himself smile. "There are a few similarities,"

"They've tried to explain it to me, Sora and the others," Ventus admitted. "But I don't really get it. To be honest-" and here he looked a little sheepish. "-I get the feeling they don't really understand what's going on either,"

Lea raised an eyebrow. "I can pass that information onto Yen Sid y'know. Say that he has no idea what he's doing," 

"No! Don't do that!" Ventus looked mortified for a second, before he took in Lea's mocking smirk and coughed his way back to normality. "I mean, uh. I'm just a little confused, I guess. How I'm here, and how this...Roxas, exists,"

The name itself seem eto send a painful jolt through Lea, although it shouldn't, it really shouldn't. Just because Roxas wasn't with them, would probably never be with them, didn't mean that he should forget about him. Roxas had been the best friend Lea had ever had. Better than Isa, anyways. 

Him and...there was someone else, Lea knew there was someone else, but his memories wouldn't piece together who it was. He figured that if he couldn't remember them, they probably weren't very important anyway.

"He was created from Sora. And because you were camping out in Sora's heart he ended up looking like you," Lea deflated, not entirely confident in his explanation. "I guess,"

"You guess?" Ventus laughed a little. "I'm not exactly reassured by your explanation,"

Lea held his hands up in surrender. "Why are you asking me? Ask our great Master Riku, or the mouse or old Yen Sid. I can tell you've already asked Sora, and I'm guessing it didn't go so well,"

Ventus shook his head, his eyes' colour seeming to dim a little with his disappointment. 

"He didn't seem to know all that much about it. Said he'd been asleep, for a year." Ventus looked almost doubtful, as if believing Sora to lie.

But Lea knew that Sora would be the last person out of all of them to ever lie. 

Apart from maybe Ventus.

"Well I can confirm that that is true," Lea reassured him. "I lay witness to most of the events that led him to being put in that position," and actually initiated and interfered with some of those events himself, but he decided to keep those pieces of information to himself.

Ventus's only reply was a soft noise of affirmation.

Lea turned back to him. "And what about you, huh? Asleep for over ten years and now you can't sleep at all? C'mon, you've got to see the irony in that,"

Ventus chuckled slightly, shrugging sheepishly before recasting his gaze out over the stars. They stayed like that for a moment, Lea torn between leaving and staying, Ventus between speaking or remaining quiet. Finally the latter let out a deep breath, choice made.

"I remember you, y'know." he turned his gaze to Lea. "That day. In Radiant Garden. You were younger then. We fought," a smile quirked Ventus's lips upwards. "I won,"

A surging crash of memories floodedpit Lea, the day Ventus spoke of becoming clear in his mind. He had blocked the memory out when he became a nobody, so seeing Roxas triggered nothing but a small spark of familiarity and desire for friendship. Even after seeing Ventus awaken, Lea had still forgotten about their meeting until now.

"I had two frisbees as weapons," Lea reminded him, but he inwardly cringed at the image of his teenage self getting his ass handed to him by the other boy. "And I believe we agreed it was a draw,"

The look in Ventus's eyes was achingly nostalgic. "And I had a wooden key blade,"

Lea shook his head in disbelief. "Man, that was way back. I had so many aspirations back then, so many dreams. Isa and I, we were gonna..." Lea's throat closed up as it always did at the mention of his former best friend.

Ventus of course, didn't take the hint. "Isa was the boy you were with, right?" he checked. "I remember being jealous of you at the time. You had someone who really cared for you," he let out a little scoff. "But I was an idiot. Terra and Aqua were supporting me the whole time,"

"Yeah, well, Isa didn't turn out to be that great a friend in the end," Lea admitted, and finally seated himself next to Ventus on the tower edge.

He was used to watching sunsets with Roxas, not pure nights, when the sky was draped with blue satin and studded with blazing diamonds. It was unfamiliar but not unwelcome, this new change. It was similar but not the same. Similar place, similar time, similar person. But Lea couldn't let himself slip back into his old habits. He wasn't a Nobody anymore, and Ventus was hardly Roxas.

"Oh," Ventus's eyes were wide. He hesitated before asking the obvious question. "What did he do?"

Lea gritted his teeth. "He's one of Xehanorts's vessels now,"

Ventus only let out another 'oh', eyes shooting back towards the ground, the tension in the air mounting again.

"It's fine, it's fine," Lea waved his concerns off, if only to distill the horrible look of pity on Ventus's face.

He didn't want Ventus to pity him, not when the boy had so many problems for himself to deal with. How did he have time and energy to pity him? Why did Ventus's caring gaze persist even when faced with Lea's unflappable reassurances?

"I'm over it," that was mostly a lie, but Lea was hardly going to tell him the truth. "Shouldn't you be worrying about your own friends? You still need to save the guy in the kilt, right?"

He felt a little bad for mentioning it as he watched Ventus's shoulders slump, expression darkening instantly.

"Yeah," his voice was quiet, timid, but to Lea's surprise it soon rose, injected with a chirpy cheer. "But we can save him, I know we can! With all of us working together, there's no way we can lose! And we're gonna save your friends too!"

Even though Lea knew his words were useless promises, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope burst inside of him at the thought of having genuine laughter with Isa again, at the thought of having sea salt ice cream with Roxas and...

And...

For some reason he thought about flowers and Kairi.

"I'm holding you to that, got it memorised?" he warned Ventus, slapping the blonde playfully on the shoulder (like he used to do with Roxas). "Anyways, twelve year sleep or no, we've got a rigorous training session in the morning, and I want a rematch,"

Ventus jumped easily to his feet. "Oh, really? I bet I'll just beat you again,"

"It was a draw," Lea reminded him. "And are you sure all those years of sleep haven't made your bones all stiff?"

"I feel fine!" Ventus shot back as they left the roof.

They walked the corridors, taking care not to awake their sleeping companions by talking too loud or stepping too hard on the floor. Ventus reached his room, the one at the very end of the hall, next to Aqua's.

Despite himself, Lea grinned. "Y'know. You're really not like him at all,"

Ventus frowned, wrinkling his nose in confusion. "Who?"

"Like Roxas,"

Ventus's mouth clacked open and then shut. One could practically see the gears turning in his head. Finally he spoke, a little fearfully. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Nah," Lea shrugged, and much to Ventus's chagrin lifted a hand to ruffle through the other boy's hair. "It reminds me that in the end, despite our appearances, we're still all Somebodies inside,"


	2. The Two Pawns (Riku & Terra)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The stature is that of a man, and a tall one at that. He is covered head to toe in armour, without a single inch of skin being visible. A cape flows behind him, in motion despite the complete lack of wind. What really makes Riku's breath catch though is the battered keyblade he holds in his hand, the same keyblade that Riku touched upon as a child._
> 
> _He's sure of it._
> 
> _"Terra?" he says dubiously, but his voice doesn't even carry far enough to be heard._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy I have no excuse for being one day late with this hahaha. Well here I am, with the crappiest, rushed self indulgent fic ever. It's pretty bad, but I did enjoy writing it. Except it's in present tense. WHY? Hope you enjoy??? Maybe??? And please excuse any lore mistakes idk what I'm doing.

The darkness is immense, swirling and sliding around them, covering them from head to toe. It sounds trapping, it sounds scary, but for Riku it is almost comforting. 

He has grown used to the darkness's wiles.

The darkness slips and slides away from him, repelled both by the remaining light in his heart and the garments the fairies had created for him and Mickey. He is still dripping in darkness, but it is not foul, doesn't have that disgusting stench. This is darkness he can use, shape with his own power, unborrowed   
and belonging only to him.

He raises his arm, and like always, feels a slight tinge of worry that his keyblade will not respond to him-will deem him unworthy of his new title. But his keyblade springs to life in his hand and Riku allows a sigh of relief to escape him, steadied by the energies the keyblade releases.

Mickey watches him from underneath his black hood, no doubt having seen the caution in which Riku had called forth the keyblade. He looks away, gaze instead stretching out across the land, the cruel mockery of their islands.

"Alright, Riku! You ready?" his voice is as chipper as ever, despite the darkness pressing in from all sides.

As if on cue, heartless emerge from the ground, bodies dripping with darkness, pushing towards the two masters with hearts so strong. Riku readies his keyblade.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I reckon," he fills his voice with forced bravado, even as the numbers threaten to overwhelm them, and the darkness searches for a way past the barriers of his heart.

They manage to win the battle, thanks to Mickey's light, and with no thanks to Riku's darkness.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Riku remembers Aqua. It hadn't been long after the first outsider had left, his words still ringing in the young boy's brain. He had been curious at the sight of her, wondering if she too would emerge with a keyshaped sword.

She did not.

Instead she ruffled his and Sora's hair, talked to them a little bit, and left. Thinking back on it it hadn't been a very memorable event, especially since it paled in comparison to the visit of the man with the Keyblade.

Yet somehow it has managed to stick with him this whole time.

Aqua stands strong, even against the oppressing darkness, fighting off heartless with magical fervour Riku didn't even know was possible. Riku is entranced for a second, until he realises that the odds are slowly overwhelming her. He jumps into action, Mickey at his heels, and a well placed meteor clears a section of heartless and successfully gets Aqua's attention. She turns abruptly, and her eyes fill with something like hope and relief.

Riku feels awkward, even as he slices heartless with his keyblade.

He does not fit in.

"Mickey?" her voice is hesitant and a little hoarse, like it hasn't been used for some time. "Is that really you?"

"Aqua!" Mickey exclaims, and it's the happiest Riku has seen him in ages. The mouse king fights his way over to stand back to back with her, and Riku dutifully follows.

Aqua smiles as the last of the heartless fade away, turning to look at Riku. Her gaze is somewhat critical, and Riku is momentarily fearful before it softens considerably.

"You were that boy," she begins, voice overwhelmed by nostalgia. "Back on the islands. Riku,"

"Yes," he confirms, and because he needs to, and because it's his fault Aqua's still in the realm of darkness to begin with, he apologises. "I'm s-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Aqua rests a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm just glad I could save you." and now her voice is tinged with regret. "I should have done more. For you and Sora both," she stares down at a clenched fist, and her sigh is breathy, seems to shake her whole body.

"Gosh, Aqua, don't be like that," Mickey glances at Aqua with worried eyes. "It's thanks to you that Sora and Riku were able to save all the worlds!"

Aqua smiles and nods, acknowledging Mickey's words. "I've got a lot to catch up on, don't I?" she looks down at Riku. "Tell me everything, please,"

They're still in the realm of darkness, and heartless are still watching from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. It is dangerous, for them to sit cross legged on the shore, listening to the waves washing in. It is risky for them to spend so much time, as Riku carefully details him and Sora's journey, the ups, the downs, all of the mistakes that he'd made. He doesn't know how time passes in the realm of darkness, but he's sure that by the time he finishes, hours have passed.

Aqua smiles at him, a teary grin and envelops him in a sudden hug. Riku freezes, but does not pull away. Aqua moves back and holds his wrist, the one still bandaged from his encounter with Roxas.

"If Terra could see you now," she begins, and her tone is bittersweet. "-he would be so proud,"

 

-/-/-/-/-/-/

He doesn't see Terra after they rescue Aqua, but he does see someone very important to him. 

He never thought that he would be wandering the halls of Castle Oblivion again, the place still residing deep in his darkest nightmares. But he is a keyblade master now, and everyone expects to be strong, so he doesn't complain, does his best not to show fear. 

Aqua seems to sense his agitation, throwing a comforting smile back at him. She is skilfully navigating the mansion, as if it had been less than a year and not twelve since she had last stepped foot here.

Lea is there too, uncharacteristically silent, no doubt cycling through very similar memories to Riku, although from a much different perspective.

Riku is unaware of the existence of the room where Ventus sits, sleeping peacefully and untroubled. He finds himself rendered speechless by how familiar he looks, from the shape of his face, to the colour of his spiky hair-

Before he can comment on the similarities Lea speaks up, with a voice so full of unease that it wrenches Riku's heart, just a little.

"Roxas?" he echoes, disbelieving, and rightfully so. They both know that there is no way that this is Roxas.

Ventus blinks open bright blue eyes, and a smile Riku had never seen on Roxas before emerges onto his face as he catches sight of his friend. Aqua kneels down by his seat, wrapping her arms around him. He laughs a little, and he whispers her name, voice trembling with effort and emotion.

Then his gaze flits to Riku. "Who are you?"

Lea leaves. Nobody stops him.

So it's left to Riku again, to tell Sora's story, the ups and the downs, and his own stupid mistakes.

When he finishes, Ventus is frowning, struggling to process the information just dumped in him. But his expression is not sour for long, a bright smile blessing his face mere seconds after the conclusion of Riku's story.

"Y'know-I have this friend called Terra," he begins, and he sounds excited, "I think he'd really like to meet you,"

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Riku knows a lot about Terra.

He knows what he looks like, for starters, knows the colour of his eyes the shape of his hair. He knows his strange clothing fashions, the angular curve of his chin. Ventus spent much of his first day awake meticulously explaining every physical detail, so that Riku will be able to identify him if he sees him. Aqua is the one who explains in a hushed manner, of what she believes Terra's true fate to be, a pawn of Xehanort. Riku knows his hair might be silver, voice deeper and words dripping with darkness.

He knows Terra may be dangerous.

But he also knows that he cares deeply for his friends, and searched endlessly for the power to protect them. It is all so familiar to Riku that he finds himself being almost as invested in the search for Terra as Ventus.

Riku doesn't want to admit it, but he is secretly relieved that he is not the only one who made stupid mistakes, who ended up betraying their friends and becoming a pawn of one of Xehanort's shadows.

He's glad although he knows he shouldn't be.

He's alone the day he does find Terra. After a gumni ship malfunction he finds himself in an unfamiliar location, with Aqua and Mickey who he had been travelling with, nowhere to be seen. It's unnerving, sure, but Riku has learned to stay calm in these kind of situations, and after setting off a few flare like spells he decides to press on through the unfamiliar landscape.

His calm mood lasts until he sees the keyblades.

Riku has never seen this many keyblades in his life, and certainly not all together. They stuck in the dust, hilt up, metal rusting with age, keychains dangling pathetically, worn and faded. He's in a sea of them, and he spies dried blood coating the surface of some of them and knows in an instant that the wielders of these blades are no longer breathing.

For him to arrive in a world like this? It could not be a coincidence, or a simple accident. In truth Riku feels a pull, a desire to press onwards despite the horrors all around him. He should wait for Aqua and Mickey, discuss what's going on around them. It would be the rational thing to do, and ever since he started working to change his mistakes, he has always done the rational thing.

Until now,

He continues to walk, swallowing down the bile that threatens to emerge at a particularly mangled keyblade. The keychain is almost unidentifiable as such mangled and crushed. He doesn't want to know what happened to its wielder.

Finally he reached a clearing, and he wants to sigh in relief at a place free of those ghostly blades. Yet he's not allowed even a small victory. The figure that emerges makes sure of that.

The stature is that of a man, and a tall one at that. He is covered head to toe in armour, without a single inch of skin being visible. A cape flows behind him, in motion despite the complete lack of wind. What really makes Riku's breath catch though is the battered keyblade he holds in his hand, the same keyblade that Riku touched upon as a child.

He's sure of it.

"Terra?" he says dubiously, but his voice doesn't even carry far enough to be heard.

He can feel the man in the armour sizing him up. Riku tenses, ready to summon Way to Dawn if necessary, but not wishing to do so. If this really is Terra he doesn't want to harm him. Or spook him. He looks unsteady, like a stray cat ready to bolt. 

Riku's heartbeat is unsteady, and he releases a breath he didn't even know he was holding when the armoured man speaks.

"You...you are the one I chose," the voice is emotionless, dead.

For a moment Riku is confused, but then the pieces click into place and sudden realisation has him reeling.

Terra had chosen him, passed the keyblade onto him. Terra recognises him-remembers him even, and Riku is filled with relief at the fact that inside that hunk of armour is someone very real.

"Yes," his voice cracks a little as he speaks. "I'm Riku. You came to the islands,"

He summons Way to Dawn, no longer afraid of spooking Terra into action. He holds it out in front of him.

"In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." Riku doesn't know why or how he remembers the words that eluded him for so long, but he does, and they push a muffled gasp out of Terra.

Riku lowers his weapon. "I did it. It was hard sometimes, and I nearly succumbed to the darkness, but in the end I managed to protect my friends. I wanted to say thank you,"

Terra's arms fall to his sides, keyblade hanging limply from his grip forgotten. Riku is about to speak again, to try and convince him to go with him, but is cut off.

"No..." abruptly his arm is back up again, keyblade at the ready. "Tainted by darkness...tainted by...by....Xe-ha-nort..." Terra's voice trails off as his arm jerks forward, weapon now firmly pointe at Riku's heart. "Xehanort!"

"I'm not-"

"Terra!" Aqua pushes past Riku without a second thought, moving to stand in front of Terra. "Terra, is it you?"

Terra-or what's left of him turns his head and regards Aqua for a few seconds. All is still for that period of time, Aqua perfectly unmoving, Riku's own breath caught in his throat.

"Who..." Terra begins, and there is finally emotion in his voice, pain and a tinge of fear. "A-Aqua? Ven?"

"Terra!" Riku doesn't know where Ventus came from but he's here, breathless and gasping and staring at the remains of his friend with wide eyes. "That's right, Terra! It's me, Ven!"

Terra falters, hesitates, his gaze turning back to Riku. "Xehanort. Xehanort!"

"No! Terra!" Aqua summons her keyblade, and the loud noise it creates gathers the attention of everyone in the clearing. Her voice softens. "Terra, look at me,"

He does.

And he crumples like a broken toy on the ground, reduced to just a hunk of metal.

Riku doesn't know if this was the meeting everyone envisioned.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

He finally gets to speak to Terra almost two weeks later. The man is not quite fully recovered from his ordeal, but he can fight, and he can fight hard, and Riku has seen with his own eyes the lengths he will go to protect his friends. (It makes Riku a little jealous, honestly-that someone is just as dedicated as he is)

Riku finally corners him (or is it the other way round?) after a training session, the two having finished a quick spar together. Riku can't help but admire Terra's fighting style, heavy and hard. Blocking his blows made the muscles in his arms ache.

He smiles politely at Terra and offers some paltry sort of greeting, but he knows that neither of them are satisfied with that. There are too many words left unsaid.

"I worried that I had doomed you to a life in the darkness. What had I been thinking, passing my keyblade onto someone so young, with so bright a future? I worried I ruined your only chance at a happy life," Terra's voice is unusually soft, and aching with self loathing and pain. "And I did. You went through so much for it. You were stronger, in the end, you beat Xehanort's heartless and your own darkness on your own, but that doesn't stop the guilt, doesn't change the fact that you had to face so many problems alone,"

Riku is silent for a moment after the sudden admission. The sky is clear and the sun is shining. It is a beautiful day if one excuses the calamities likely happening in other worlds as they speak. Xehanort's foul schemes are spreading, but he knows that Sora is doing his best, and will repel him.

He always does after all.

"But I wasn't alone," he says finally, and offers a small smile. "I had my friends. And so do you,"

Terra lets out a little huff that might be laughter. "You're right, of course," ne exhales sharply, and then grins hesitantly. "Y'know, after I heard from Aqua and Ven about all you did, the struggles you went through as my successor, I really wanted to properly meet you,"

"Me too," Riku says, just to say something.

"And now that I have...I guess I feel...." Terra's gaze falls to the ground before moving back up to study Riku's face. "-like I couldn't be any prouder,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, okay that wasn't great. I still hope you enjoyed, tho! And if you have any ideas for how you'd want to be discussed in a sora & Xion meeting (which I'm currently writing) please tell me, and also tell me if you have any requests for character interactions.
> 
> Next week: The assassin and the princess!


	3. The Assasin and The Princess (Lea and Kairi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Lea raised his keyblade awkwardly, still not used to the weight, because okay, despite his protests, it was KIND of heavy. "Ready to go, princess?"_
> 
> _Kairi's attention snapped from Riku in a second. She glared at Lea, first coldly, then thoughtfully, and then a cunning glint flickered in her eye. She similarly lifted her keyblade but with far more grace and confidence than he had expected._
> 
> _"Lea. If I win this spar, you'll call me Kairi, got it?" she was grinning in a conspiring manner and Lea had to stifle a chuckle at the sudden display of confidence. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR I DONT EVEN LIKE LEA ALL THAT MUCH I DUNNO WHY HES CROPPED UP AGAIN. This one is another standard pair up, but meh, I do enjoy stories like these. So yeah, this is Kairi and Lea, with some Riku in there to satisfy my love for him. I hope you enjoy (even though the language I use seems particularly awkward in this one???)

"No, your stance is all wrong! It's not like using your chakrams, you have to remember that, here, grip it with two hands if it's too heav-"

"It's not too heavy!" Lea exclaimed, appalled. "I summon this out of thin air, how can it be too heavy?"

Riku just looked at him, and then shrugged. Lea got the impression that this wasn't exactly what he had signed up for. "Sure,"

Lea groaned, allowing the keyblade to dematerialise in front of him. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of summoning it on command, quite often whipping out his chakrams instead out of pure instinct. But none of that compared to actually wielding the weapon, and although Lea was lanky and quick, the keyblade felt decidedly awkward in his hand.

They were in a training ground in the newly reconstructed Radiant Garden, in a rare lush patch of greenery. Kairi had managed to incinerate most of the grass with a misplaced fire spell, but Riku seemed confident enough that Merlin could magic it back. 

...Mostly.

Speaking of Kairi, she was doing considerably better than him. Although her magical accuracy seemed to be somewhat lacking, she had a good grip on the simplest of combos and stances. Lea knew that Riku suspected what he did though, that Kairi had little to no real combat experience and was ill equipped to properly defend herself.

A spar could probably sort that out, but Riku was hesitating.

Scared of hurting her, Lea realised, and hid an eye roll. If he wanted to keep her safe he had to teach her, not hide her away from the world. Making up his mind, Lea summoned his chakrams (apart from Xehanort himself, their enemies weren't all going to be using keyblades). It earned him a curious look from Riku, who was coaxing Kairi through a cure spell.

"Hey, princess!" Lea called, and he instantly had Kairi's attention, the girl pushing away from Riku to face him.

"My name is Kairi," she bit out. "I'd appreciate if you used it,"

Lea snorted. "Right, Kairi. I've got it memorised, princess."

Kairi bristled, but didn't take the bait. "What is it?"

Despite being reassured that Lea was trustworthy, tensions were high between the two of them on those first days of training. Lea couldn't blame her. He had kidnapped her in another life, and well, was it evasive to call it another life? Even as a Nobody he remembered feeling what he could now identify as emotion-albeit muted. His kidnapping of Kairi was purely to try and revive Roxas, and was foolish and stupid, but his messed up emotions (or lack of them) and his traitorous heart (the one that didn't exist) were what drove him do it.

He had apologised, of course, more than once, and Kairi had accepted those apologies but he suspected she was still suspicious of him. Which was fine.

It didn't bother Lea at all.

"You need to fight a real opponent, right?" he called out, gesturing to her keyblade. "All those fancy moves don't mean anything if you can't use 'em in combat,"

Kairi narrowed her eyes, finally understanding. "You want me to fight you,"

"Lea..." Riku started, but he didn't even manage to get another word out before he was cut off.

"No, 'Master Riku' You're coddling her. She needs a real fight, against a real opponent," 

Riku looked like he was going to argue, but backed off. His teeth were worrying his lip, aquamarine eyes clouded with doubt as he worked through his thoughts.

Kairi readied her keyblade, glaring at Lea with a ferocity he didn't know she had in her. Before Riku could give out any kind of signal for them to 'go', or even attempt to stop him she was running forward, keyblade arced in a deadly swing.

A deadly swing that was bat away, barely driving Lea back. He disarmed her in two more strikes, and her flowery keyblade dissolved as soon as it hit the ground. Still on her feet but unarmed, Kairi sighed and blew away a loose strand of hair forlornly. Lea took that as her sign of surrender.

Riku looked absolutely horrified by the events that had just taken place, and Lea was sure that if he was just a little taller he would have took Lea by the  
shoulders and shook him violently,

"What was that?" thinly veiled anger lay beneath the surface of his quiet hiss, eyes almost seeming to glow in his sudden fury.

Lea probably surprised both of them by apologising to Kairi, before turning to Riku. "She wants to be able to fight Organisation XIII? They're all as skilled as me, probably more so. That isn't going to cut it,"

Riku's hands curled into fists, fingernails digging into his palm. He pulled himself up to his full height so he could look Lea in the eye.

"She's only been practicing for a few days, Lea. I don't care if we were all slaying heartless the moment we touched the weapons, she still needs proper training. A proper spar, not a beating!" Riku's voice trailed off, and Lea could practically see a lightbulb illuminate in his brain. "Summon your keyblade," he told Lea, and his tone left no room for debate.

More amused than intimidated, Lea let the keyblade materialise in a flurry of flames. He nodded to himself in satisfaction. He was finally getting better at summoning it. Riku seemed to take in his progress with a curt nod as well, before facing Kairi.

"You all right?" he asked, and the commanding tone in his voice dropped a little in concern.

"I'm fine, Riku," she reassured him, and at his worried look, held up her arms for inspection. "See? He went easy on me, I swear,"

Riku looked at Lea suspiciously, who just shrugged.

"Okay, then can you summon your keyblade too?"

Kairi did as told and she and Lea both looked at Riku questioningly.

"Lea has more overall combat experience, whilst Kairi, you have more experience with the keyblade as a weapon. That should help even the match," he nodded to himself. "Please, this is just practice, prioritise safety and....well..."

"I get it, I get it, you don't want your little princess to get hurt," Lea smirked at him. "It's fine, I'll go easy on her, I swear,"

Riku's confidence seemed to drain out of him, eyes drifting away in embarrassment. "That's..."

"Riku...I understand if you and Sora are worried about me, but that's why I'm learning how to wield the keyblade. I'm sick of waiting on the sidelines, Destiny Islands is my home too, and I want to protect it," Kairi turned her full attention on Riku, offering the older boy a gentle smile. She lifted her keyblade as if in pledge, and her gaze flit back to Lea. "So please, let me do this without intervention. He won't hurt me. I...I can feel it,"

Kairi's eyes seemed to pierce right through him, and Lea briefly entertained the idea that she was in his mind, sifting through thoughts and memories. He had never seen such a fierce and determined look on her face.

It reminded Lea of someone, but he couldn't quite figure out who.

It made him smile.

"She's right! You need to let her stand on her own two feet!" judging by the sharp look he got from both of them, his cheer was taken as condescending instead of congratulatory.

...Oh well.

"I get that," Riku's eyes bore into the ground. "I know you're strong and you are capable of protecting yourself, I just..." he trailed off, shaking his head abruptly. "Never mind. Let's just do this, I guess,"

Kairi glanced at Riku, mumbling his name under her breath. He didn't meet her gaze, eyes still fixated on no certain point on the ground.

Lea raised his keyblade awkwardly, still not used to the weight, because okay, despite his protests, it was KIND of heavy. "Ready to go, princess?"

Kairi's attention snapped from Riku in a second. She glared at Lea, first coldly, then thoughtfully, and then a cunning glint flickered in her eye. She similarly lifted her keyblade but with far more grace and confidence than he had expected.

"Lea. If I win this spar, you'll call me Kairi, got it?" she was grinning in a conspiring manner and Lea had to stifle a chuckle at the sudden display of confidence.

"I dunno about that, princess. What's in it for me?" he didn't care, not really, but the recently repressed side of him that begged for chaos desired to see a mix up, a change, some panic.

Often Lea hated that part of him. 

Recently he had just come to terms with the fact that that was just who he was. 

Kairi hesitated, a thoughtful look passing over her face. "Um...Let me think,"  
not quite the mix up Lea had desired, but he found he was particularly good at 'rolling' with it.

"Let's not make this into a bet, okay?" Riku cut in, and his worried tone had seamlessly morphed into an exasperated one. "Just..." he made a crossing motion with his hands, not wanting to say it aloud.

"Eloquent, Master Riku," Lea smirked at him, and received a mumbled and embarrassed 'shut up' for his troubles.

"Alright," Kairi settled into her proper stance which oozed with confidence. "Ready when you are!"

-/-/-/-/-/-/

"I thought Riku was going to have a heart attack when you offered to take me out for ice cream!" 

"Well, in all fairness, it was after you kicked my ass three ways to Sunday. I think he was expecting more of a retaliation,"

Kairi wiped away tears of laughter, grinning proudly. She seemed to be skipping along, and despite himself, Lea found her good mood contagious.

"You didn't have to go so easy on me, y'know," Kairi hummed. "I can take care of myself,"

"Oh please," Lea rolled his eyes. "Riku would bite my head off if I hurt you, and that's nothing compared to what Sora would do when he got back,"

Kairi let out an unladylike snort. "Hey! They're not THAT bad." she paused for a second, thinking. "Huh. On second thoughts, maybe they are."

"And I wasn't going totally easy on you. You have skill, princess, I'll give you that,"

The frown returned to Kairi's face. "My name's Kairi. K-A-I-R-I." she raised a finger and tapped it against her forehead. "Got it memorised?"

"Ouch," Lea drawled. "And I thought I was the one with the fire power. That was some burn, Kairi,"

Kairi narrowed her eyes, and a pseudo-thoughtful expression slipped onto her face. "I'd drop the sarcasm, but otherwise-not bad, Axel,"

Lea winced. "Okay, you did that on purpose,"

Kairi shrugged innocently. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, maybe we'll never know,"

"Wow, Kairi, I didn't realise you were so much fun," Lea snorted, stretching languidly. It reminded Kairi of a cat, just a little bit. "It's a nice change from our dear stick-in-the-mud,"

Kairi frowned. "Oh come on, he's not always like that! This master thing is just stressing him out."

Lea shrugged dismissively. "It shouldn't be. I've seen ol' Yen Sid and I'm pretty sure all a keyblade master needs to do is sit in a chair and stroke their beard to be deemed worthy,"

"I'll be sure to tell him to grow one," Kairi replied tightly, but all humour was gone from her voice as quickly as it had arrived.

Lea groaned exaggeratedly, throwing his arms up into the air. "Okay, so what's wrong now? We were having a nice chat about your boyfriends and now you're throwing a hissy fit on me?"

Kairi's eyes bore into him, her voice dangerously low. "I'm not-" she paused, shook her head, and when she spoke again her voice was much calmer. "Can't you take anything seriously, Axel?"

That stopped him cold. His feet stuttered to a halt, arms falling limp at his sides. Kairi stopped walking too, watching him with way eyes. She made no move to change her words, to change her mistake.

"What kind of question is that?"

Kairi remained silent.

"You don't know what I've done, what I've seen. It doesn't matter how I didn't feel anything then, I do now, and that stuff hurts, it's the product of a thousand nightmares. When Roxas..." he shook his head rapidly. "I couldn't...I died, Kairi! Do you think I just let that happen because I was having a laugh? Just joking around? Do you think that me trying to learn to use the keyblade is just because...I don't know...I thought it'd be fun?" he leaned down, so he could properly meet her eyes. "Do you think I think this is all a game?"

Energy suddenly sapped Lea leaned backwards, breathing heavily with exertion. Lidded eyes watched Kairi tiredly for a reaction.

The redhead hadn't moved since the start of his rant, but now she lifted her read, pushing a few stray strands out of her eyes. 

She was smiling.

"Lea," she said, and his real name sounded triumphant on her tongue. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear," she stepped closer, and lifted her hand to press against his rib cage where his heart now rested. "I can feel your heartbeat. As long as your heart's still beating you can feel. You can laugh, and cry, and scream and shout and it'll all be real. Don't be so afraid to let your emotions out. They're...they're what make you human,"

He gaped at her momentarily, watching as she withdrew her hand and took a step backwards, now seemingly embarrassed. His right hand moved to fill the gap she had left, and he could feel the unfamiliar yet comfortable thump of his heartbeat thrumming underneath his skin. Hesitantly he returned her smile.

"I guess you're right, princess. Thanks,"

"It's Kairi,"

"Thanks, Kairi,"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Y-You want sea salt ice cream?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem? I've never had it before, and apparently it's really popular this time of year,"

Lea paused. Kairi's smile was earnest, innocent. She clearly had no idea what she was saying. What it meant.

"Yeah. Yeah. You're right. Let's get that,"

Three minutes later found them sat sat on a low lying wall near the town square. It wasn't quite the clock tower, not even close, but it had a sort of serene atmosphere Lea felt like he could get behind.

Kairi took an experimental lick.

"...."

"It's salty...but sweet."

Lea winced involuntarily at that response, and sighed as Kairi's gaze probed him to answer.

"....Y'know, you sort of remind me of someone,"

"Who?"

"I don't know. I feel like I should know, but I can't. She was a lot like you though," ice cream finished he busied himself flicking the wooden stick against his fingers.

It was even the same brand as in Twilight Town. He didn't realise that sea salt ice cream was a multi world phenomenon.

"She? Is she special to you?" Kairi sounded innocent, but Lea could hear the curious edge in her voice that desperately wanted to know.

"Not like that, no. I just said that she was like you, right? But yeah, she was still special to me. Her and Roxas, the two of them were like...I can't remember," it was like there was a mental wall in his brain, a gap where someone should be. He didn't know in what capacity he had known this girl he was thinking of, but he was sure that they were friends.

And he was sure she was like Kairi.

"Don't have it memorised, huh?" her words were teasing but both her gaze and her smile were sad and sympathetic, picking up on the somber tone of his voice.

"Mm,"

"We should probably get back. Riku will give us drills if we stay out too long," Kairi finally broke the silence.

"You're right on that one. Okay, let's go," Lea prepared to jump off the wall when Kairi spoke up.

"Oh! Wait a second, there's something on my stick! It says 'winner?'"

"On your first one? Well played, Kairi, well played." he shook his head, in amazement and a sort of nostalgia.

"What are they?" she gazed at her stick with starry eyes.

"I'll explain on the way back, c'mon,"

The two jumped off of the wall, Kairi sticking her stick into her pocket. Lea did the same, prompting a curious look from his companion.

"Why did you keep yours? It wasn't a winner, was it?"

"Well it might not be a winner, but it's still a memory, right?" instantly embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 

But Kairi wasn't laughing. Her eyes were dead serious.

"...We'll find them, Lea, I promise,"

"Find who?"

"Roxas, and the girl,"

"Her name is Xion," Lea whispered to himself, awed as the name teased at the end of his consciousness.

Kairi looked at him. "What did you say?"

"Roxas and Xion. Now that I've learned to wield the keyblade too, they sure as hell cant leave me behind,"

Kairi smiled. "Let's go back,"

Lea matched the expression, fingering the ice cream stick in his pocket. "Let's,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's that. I finished the next drabble over the course of the last week and have an idea of what characters I'm going to use for the one after that. Do talk to me about your requests and I'll see if I can make them work, but the next two chapters are probably set in stone. I hope you enjoyed and farewell!
> 
> Next time: The Hero and The Puppet


	4. The Hero and The Puppet (Sora & Xion)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The girl, Xion, his mind supplied, got to her feet, stepping over to him. Sora very nearly brought out his keyblade but some unidentifiable force seemed to stop him, and his hand remained limp by his side. She took her hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart._
> 
> _"Sora." Xion said, finally looking him right in the eye. "Why did you come here?"_
> 
> _Sora broke her gaze, staring out over towards the setting sun casting orange light over the aptly named Twilight Town. Despite the dwindling hour there were still kids playing in the streets, adults shopping at the market just before it closed. From his place on the clock tower Sora felt like he could see the whole world, and all that stretched beyond it._
> 
> _But why had he come here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy, here I am, a little bit late. I apologise, but I've been without Internet for the past week even though this hasn't been done for quite some time.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Sora frowned at the girl before him. "Do I...know you?"

There was something faintly familiar about her, although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. She certainly looked a lot like Kairi, (maybe she was a sister he'd never heard about?) but he felt that the familiarities ran further than that. He couldn't remember meeting this girl in his life. Ever.

And yet...and yet?

She hesitated at his question, black hair falling like a curtain over her face. She was dressed almost entirely in the same colour, cloaked in a black hoodie and jeans. She looked as if she wasn't going to answer for a moment, before a small smile graced her face.

"No. We've never met,"

Sora frowned, conflicted. It made sense, logically. He couldn't tie this girl to any memories, but that didn't dissuade the feeling sitting in his stomach, the feeling that he knew her, at least in some capacity, that she was important.

"Oh. Sorry. You just...you just remind me of someone I know,"

Kairi, his brain supplied again and as soon as the comparison entered his brain it wasn't leaving. This was beyond coincidental. She looked almost identical to Kairi back when they had first tried to leave the islands. If it wasn't for her dark hair and eyes, Sora would mistake them for the same person.

"Kairi, right?" she smiled knowingly at him, hut there was an unmissable glint of sadness in her eyes.

Sora balked. How did she...how did she know Kairi? "You know Kairi?"

"We've never met," the girl admitted, gaze falling to the ground in something that could be shame. "I knew Riku though,"

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "You know Riku?" Sora doesn't really know what Riku had been doing in the year he had been asleep, but Sora's sure that he would have mentioned meeting such a mysterious girl, especially one that could be Kairi's twin.

"Knew," she emphasised, and pulled her hoodie closer around herself.

Sora blinked. "Riku's not dead."

That seemed to take her by surprise, although not for the reasons he would have expected. She took a step back, and Sora swore that he heard a laugh although he couldn't imagine why.

"No! I know that! Jeez, Roxas, you're such a..." the smile on her face died before it could truly form, but those words had cemented themselves into his brain.

"Roxas?" Sora echoed, placing the name almost instantly. "You know Roxas? Are you..." he hesitated. "Are you with the Organisation?"

"Huh? N-No! I'm not..." she avoided his gaze, eyes fixated on the ground.

It wasn't terribly convincing. 

"But I swear we know all thirteen members of the original organisation." Sora quickly counted them off on his fingers and then nodded to himself. "And besides, they've disbanded..." suddenly on his guard, Sora took a step back. "You're not with Xehanort are you?" he hesitated, and then scratched his head. "Because no offence, you don't really look the part. You're missing the eyes, for starters. And um...I don't mean to insult your physique or anything, but-"

"I'm not in league with Xehanort," she cut him off firmly, and was adamant enough that Sora felt he had to believe her. "But...your earlier deduction was pretty much on the mark," she moved to sit down, legs swinging out over the air. "What if I was to tell you that there was a fourteenth member of the organisation? A keyblade wielder, called Xion?"

Sora looked at her, really looked at her, and felt the sadness in his heart well up again. For some reason he almost felt like crying, although he couldn't figure out exactly why.

"That's impossible. They're called Organisation XIII for a reason. Why would they have a fourteenth member?"

"Exactly," she said, and her voice dipped lower in her sadness. "Which is why they didn't care when I returned to you,"

The context aside, the weirdness of that last line struck Sora as funny. Hadn't she just said that they'd never met? And 'returning to him'-why did it sound like so much more than one would assume at first glance.?

"Return to me?" he voiced his thoughts out loud. "But I thought you said we'd never met?"

The girl, Xion, his mind supplied, got to her feet, stepping over to him. Sora very nearly brought out his keyblade but some unidentifiable force seemed to stop him, and his hand remained limp by his side. She took her hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart.

"Sora." Xion said, finally looking him right in the eye. "Why did you come here?"

Sora broke her gaze, staring out over towards the setting sun casting orange light over the aptly named Twilight Town. Despite the dwindling hour there were still kids playing in the streets, adults shopping at the market just before it closed. From his place on the clock tower Sora felt like he could see the whole world, and all that stretched beyond it.

It was beautiful.

But why had he come?

He had felt a draw to this world, even more so than the others. Twilight Town almost felt like a second home to him which was crazy, because he'd only been here a handful of times, and never for a particularly good reason.

His attachment to Twilight Town was as much of a mystery as the black haired girl before him.

"I don't really know. I guess I just felt like coming,"

Xion looked a little bit disappointed at his answer, and Sora felt that he couldn't really blame her. He knew there was some reason he was here, he could feel it.

He just didn't...he just didn't...

"Roxas?" he said, to himself mostly, but Xion's gaze was on him in a second.

"Yes." she whispered softly. "Roxas loved this exact spot,"

Sora noticed the familiarity in that sentence almost immediately, but it did nothing but pull up more questions. Was it possible that Xion knew Roxas? But while he sometimes had flashes of Roxas's life, he had never seen Xion.

Or at least he didn't think he had.

"You knew him?"

Xion nodded, but the haunted look in her eyes never changed. "He was my best friend,"

Sora felt his throat go dry. Logically that could make no sense. He had never heard of any sort of Xion-let alone one who was best friends with his Nobody. Axel-Lea, was Roxas's best friend, and he sure hadn't mentioned anyone else.

But then...what was that he was always telling Kairi? That she reminded him of someone? And he still couldn't shake the urge that he knew Xion from somewhere, whether they met in Roxas's memories or in his. He found himself believing her. The sadness in her eyes-that was not acting. Nobody could replicate that look of shadowed sorrow.

He dared to ask. "What changed?"

A single tear slipped out of Xion's eye, slipping down her cheek to rest there, glimmering in the twilight.

"I returned to you. And he forgot,"

Xion took a step backwards, hand falling back to her side. She took another step back, and then another, and suddenly she was on the very edge, teetering precariously on the wind.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked, more than a little worried now. He took a step forward and Xion matched it with a step backwards.

Another tear fell, and then another and another until the air was punctuated with sound of ugly sobs. Sora watched, dumbfounded, even as the girl moved to wipe the tears away, leaving wetness smeared across her cheeks.

"I never should have come here," she mumbled, so quiet that he could barely hear it. Then she looked at him. "I'm sorry,"

And then she fell.

"Xion!" Sora screeched, flinging himself over the edge, digging his feet into the ground. He grabbed onto her arm with both hands. "Don't let go! I'm going to pull you up!"

"Sora...?"

Her head raised, tear filled eyes meeting his.

"Hold on!" he repeated, pulling her up and swinging her up and over the ledge.

Xion hit the hard ground breathless and gasping, and Sora found himself collapsing next to her, adrenaline wearing off as quick as it had come.

"S-Sora..." Xion croaked, voice barely recognisable through her tears.

"What were you doing?" he asked, and winced at how accusing he sounded. "What were you trying to do?"

"I don't know," Xion said softly, shaking her head rapidly. "I don't know,"

"Xion...." Sora could feel a sense of what could only be deja vu course through his veins. The memory of him, leaning over to grasp onto her arm.

He felt...he felt like it had all happened before.

But how?

...Roxas?

"You said you were his best friend." Sora sat up. "Tell me. If you really were-are, I'll know. He'll know and I'll know,"

Xion looked at him with tear filled eyes. Her hand moved to wipe them away. She sat up, slowly, never once taking her gaze off of Sora.

"He was always so nice to me." she closed her eyes, bit her lip. "Him and Axel, both, they risked so much to save me. When I couldn't summon my keyblade they devised a plan to keep it a secret. They would have gotten in trouble had they been found out, but that didn't stop them. They were always...they were always helping me," she swung her legs over the edge, so that she was facing the setting sun. "We'd watch this sight, every day," her voice cracked. "On our day off...we wanted to go to the beach,"

_Maybe this day, we'll finally hit the beach!_

Sora swallowed at the sudden memory that spawned from Xion's words, although it did little to validate her story. Try as he might, Sora just couldn't remember ever meeting Xion ever, but that still didn't dispel the overpowering feeling of familiarity and kinship he felt with her.

He made his decision.

"Do you want to see them again?"

Xion nodded, a short quick movement. "More than anything,"

Smiling, Sora got to his feet. "Well then, let's go!"

Xion blinked up at him, and then turned her gaze to the hand he had extended. "I...I don't understand."

"Well you're not with Xehanort, right?" he prodded, beaming gently.

Xion shook her head slowly, still apparently dumbfounded.

"Then there's no problem!" Sora announced cheerily. "You want to find Roxas? Me too? Let's team up! It'll be easier with more allies. And besides, I can take you to Lea!"

"Lea?" she echoed in confusion.

"Oh, Axel. He's a human now! Isn't it great? He never mentioned you, but I guess it just never came into conversation," Sora mused.

He figured it was a lot more than that, but he was hardly going to tell Xion that.

She hesitated. "I really shouldn't..."

Sora retracted his hand, a frown replacing the smile on his face. "Look, I don't know what happened to you. To be honest, I don't even know if your motives are genuine. But there's something-someone in me, who trusts you, with their life, even," 

Xion's mouth clacked open and then shut. "...Roxas?"

"He wants to see you again," Sora confessed. He focused on the energies gathering in his heart, the undeniable presence that he had long ago identified as Roxas. He was pushing against the barriers of his heart, desperate to get out and see. His curiosity and desperation further cemented the idea that Xion was someone special into Sora's brain.

"C'mon," Sora stretched his hand out again. "Let's go save him,"

Xion eyed the hand warily again, for two seconds, three seconds, five. Sora held his breath, only releasing when Xion allowed herself to be pulled up.

"I'll save you, Roxas," she whispered, barely audible.

As Sora replied it was almost as if his voice changed, falling into a tone and pitch that Xion was very familiar with.

"I know you will," 

"Xion,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately I've been pretty busy lately, and the writing that should have gone towards the next drabble instead went towards a sorikai thing I may eventually post. So I wouldn't get your hopes up for an update next week. We'll see.
> 
> Next time: Crippling Similarities


	5. Crippling Similarities (Aqua & Roxas)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"You need a being to do magic," Roxas said suddenly, dragging Aqua out of her thoughts. "As a nobody I had almost all of Sora's power, his presence. Now I barely have anything..."_
> 
>  
> 
> _It hurt Aqua to hear a boy who looked so much like Ven to talk like that. It hurt her, but it also helped her understand, and she realised that she knew exactly why his magic wouldn't respond to him._
> 
>  
> 
> _"Magic is all about belief," she began, gaining Roxas's attention. "More than talent or technique, one needs confidence in their abilities. You can't just expect the magic to appear. You need to want it. You produced smoke, right? That's proof that there's magic running in your veins. Magic that is whole and real, just like you,"_
> 
>  
> 
> _Roxas blinked slowly, looking back down at his hands. "That's..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll go full out and admit that I heavily disliked this chapter, and it downright hated me. I guess it had a lot to do with the characters. Aqua and Roxas are not my favourite KH characters, not even close. Coupled with schoolwork and my pathetic attempts at Nanowrimo, means that it took forever to get this out. Character dislike also means that over half this is actually Sora and Co. interaction. But very ooc and angst for some reason. 
> 
> ...whoops. Still I hope you do enjoy to some degree!

"That's Ventus,"

Aqua's finger shook a little despite her confident words, hovering over her target unsteadily. He lay slumped against the wall, head bowed, fluffy blonde hair drooping down over closed eyes.

"That's Roxas," Lea's gaze was fiery, which was not a difficult feat for the flame starter, although this was something different entirely. 

Lea was sort of crouched over Ventus, almost as if he was...protecting him? From her?

"That's Ventus, I know it is. I'd never forget the face of my best friend!" she insisted, silently pleading for the other to move away from him.

"You sure about that?" Lea drawled. "You've been away for a long time. Sure you haven't just gotten a little confused?"

Aqua's voice was icy. "I would never forget Ven," she hissed, fiercely enough that Lea actually seemed to flinch. "I know what he looks like. That's him. This is him,"

They had found the blonde while digging for data in the digital Twilight Town. Nobody had any clue how he'd gotten there, or why he wasn't with Sora, but they had rescued him almost immediately, freeing him from his living lie.

Not that he'd woken up since.

And as soon as Aqua had laid eyes on him she had broke, ushering the boy into a hug only to be fought off by Lea who held him equally as tight. 

They were now on the Gumni ship, the three of them plus Mickey, Sora and Riku, all fidgeting under the tension crowding the room.

"But he looks like Roxas," Riku said softly, not flinching when Aqua's gaze snapped to his. "I'm not doubting your memory. But Lea's right. This...he looks like Roxas,"

"I hid Ventus away," Aqua admitted, falling back onto her heels. "There was no reason for him to be in the digital Town. Yet...he looks exactly like him..."

"Is it..." Riku hesitated, as if wary about the validity of his claim. "Is it possible that Ventus and Roxas could look the same? Or even..." here he swallowed. "Be the same person?"

"Huh?" Mickey questioned. "But Roxas is Sora's nobody. How could he also be Ventus? I've met Ventus before. Aqua's right. He looks exactly like him,"

"So it's a two on two vote, huh," Lea mumbled, and then sighed. "Call me crazy, but this is Roxas. I know it is,"

There was a moment of silence, and secretly Aqua wished that she could share Lea's confidence.

"When I was sleeping. I think I met Roxas. It's kind of hazy but he was definitely there," Sora crouched down to get to eye level with the sleeping boy. "I feel...weird. He just..." his head snapped up suddenly. "I know what I need to do,"

All eyes were on Sora instantly, but the brunette ignored them, instead summoning his keyblade,

"Sora, what are you doing?" Mickey exclaimed, alarmed by the serious expression on the keyblade wielder's face. "You're-"

Sora glanced at the Kingdom Key, and then shook his head, dispelling it. There was a moment of silence as everyone wondered how to react before Sora raised his head. His gaze and eyes were completely sincere.

"Riku..." he said softly. "Could you unlock my heart?"

The room's inhabitants recoiled in unison, voices beginning to clamour in shock. The four exchanged wild glances, looking at each other, to Sora, and then back again.

"Sora..." Riku's voice rose above the rest, although it faltered almost instantly. "Why do you want to-"

"It's Roxas's heart," excitement crossed Sora's face all at once, and the boy seemed to bounce with sudden positivity. "If this really is Roxas, then I have his heart. I can wake him up,"

"Hate to break it to you but Roxas was a nobody, got it memorised? They don't have hearts," there was no humour in Lea's words, only bitterness, and everyone in the room winced collectively at his dark tone of voice.

"No," Sora said, so resolutely and firmly that he had even Riku surprised. "Xemnas told me something, in the dream world. That...hearts grow back. If one waited long enough they could get their heart and feelings back. When you and Roxas died-you may already have had your own hearts, your own feelings," he suddenly grinned, beaming up at Lea. "No-I'm positive! You were your own person when you died. What you did-somebody without feelings would never do that!"

Silence stretched onwards as Sora's words echoed in the Gumni ship, all parties still in deep thought. Finally Lea broke the silence, his voice cracked and uncertain.

"I did it for Roxas. It wasn't for you, y'know,"

"I know," Sora's smile didn't falter. "But in the end, we couldn't save him. That's why-if this is Roxas, I have to save him! He deserves to be his own person too!" he turned to Riku. "Please! If you unlock my heart we might just be able to save him!"

Riku recoiled far back enough that his back hit the wall of the Gumni ship with a resolute thump, the impact causing his hair to flip down over his eyes, hiding their doubt.

"I...Sora, what you're asking of me is impossible,"

Sora shook his head rapidly. "Don't be like that! I know you can do it!"

"It's not about that," Riku cut in sharply, expression suddenly thunderous. "Do you know how dangerous that would be? Remember when you released Kairi's heart? You turned into a heartless, Sora! You nearly died!"

"But-"

"Riku's right, Sora," Mickey piped up sadly. "The risks far outweigh the reward. Our primacy concern is keeping you safe,"

Sora's hands tightened into fists by his sides. "But...but that's bullcrap! What makes my life worth anymore than Roxas's? He's suffered enough! If you won't do it then I will!" he called a keyblade again, but this one was darker, curved at the edges, and lacked a telltale keychain on its hilt. Although it meant little to Lea or Aqua, Riku recognised it instantly.

"That's...a keyblade of heart? You still had it?"

Sora held the keyblade with both hands, pointing the deadly tip towards himself. 

"Sora?" Mickey questioned uneasily. "What are you doing?"

Riku moved to intercept his friend, only to find a barrier surrounding him. Sora had never been great at shield spells, but it seemed as if he'd picked up a few new tricks. No matter how much he rammed on the barrier it wouldn't give.

"If I mess up and I turn into a heartless, then...uh..." Sora attempted to break the tense atmosphere with a sheepish smile. "I don't think I thought that far ahead,"

There was a moment of precious silence, in which everyone lamented on how much of an IDIOT Sora was.

"Sora, you idiot!" Lea snapped, and it was safe to say that it surprised everyone that Lea who had gone to such desperate measures to try and get Roxas back as Axel opposed the idea.. "I want Roxas back just as much as you do, but this isn't the way to go about and do it!"

"He deserves to be his own person!" Sora repeated, and then moved to ram the keyblade through his chest.

A slim hand curled around the hilt, stopping him.

From where his gaze was fixed on the floor Sora's head snapped upwards, meeting the eyes of the one who'd stopped him. Aqua's hand was firm around the keyblade's hilt, her other hand moving to wrap around his wrist.

"Sora. That's enough,"

Despite the anger and confusion that had been present in her voice earlier, now it held nothing but steady calm. She took a hand off of Sora's wrist to ruffle through his spiky hair, smiling sadly at the nostalgia of it all.

"She dispelled my barrier?" Sora thought aloud, and then let the keyblade fade from existence. "Aqua? What are you doing?"

Aqua gazed at the blonde still lying on the ground, head drooping in front of him. Although his position suggested discomfort there was an almost peaceful expression on his face and he seemed somewhat tranquil in his sleep.

It was hard to believe that they couldn't get him to wake up.

"I don't know if this boy is Ventus or Roxas," Aqua began, never once taking her eyes off of the blonde. "But from my friendship with Ventus and what I know about Roxas, I know that neither of them would want you throwing your life away purely to save them,"

Sora froze and then suddenly shot ramrod straight, hands curling up at his sides.

"That's not-I don't want to die, Aqua! This won't kill me, I know it won't! I did it before and I was okay, Kairi saved me-" 

"Kairi's not here!" Riku snapped, suddenly furious. "If you have to go ahead with this mad idea at least do it with her nearby!"

"But even so, I believe in the rest of you guys! Kairi saved me not because she was a princess of heart, but because of the strength of said heart. She believed in me, and she saved me! I know you guys can do the same!"

Sora's gaze flit between everyone anxiously, the moment of silence following his outburst heavy with unspoken tension.

"You're insane, you know that Sora?" Lea finally said, shaking his head exasperatedly. "We've been both enemies and allies but I still have got no clue what goes on in that head of yours,"

Sora laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head in something like embarrassment. "Heh. I guess that's why some people say that nothing does,"

Riku took a deep breath and the force of his exhale caused his hair to flutter in front of his face. He locked his fingers, and avoided Sora's gaze.

"Sora. Let's not do this here. This is a crazy idea. You were asleep for a year, Sora, have you forgotten that? You lost a year of your life and it was the hardest year of mine. I don't want either of us to go through that again," finally he smiled, just a little bit, and his piercing eyes met Sora's. "I thought you of all people would be the one searching for another option. Doing something like this is sort of like giving up, right? We'll save Roxas, we will. Give us some credit, okay?"

Sora blinked owlishly, before perking up considerably. "Alright! Sounds like a plan to me! I'll save him!" he quickly turned to Aqua. "And don't worry-we'll save Ventus as well!" he nodded enthusiastically, although all could tell that the current subject of conversation was far from forgotten.

Aqua tried to be touched or encouraged by his reassurance, but as she cast another gaze over the sleeping blonde she felt herself despair slightly.

"Are you sure this isn't Ventus?" she asked quietly.

"Master Aqua," Riku began, ever formal. "Everything down to his clothing indicates that he's Roxas. I'm not saying there's no margin for error, but, the odds are firmly in Roxas's favour,"

That had been the answer Aqua had been expecting, truly, but that didn't stop disappointment welling up in her at his predictable words.

"We will save Ventus," Sora repeated, and this time he pressed his hand onto her shoulder, smiling brightly. "Okay!"

Aqua exhaled, not out of frustration, but more out of what felt like release.

"Okay. Let's get back, and figure a way out to wake this guy up,"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

For two weeks after he awoke, Roxas spent most of his time glued to Lea's side.

For those two weeks, progress grinded to a halt. Training and missions were forgone in favour of teaching Roxas how to be human again, how to love and trust and exist peacefully with all the emotions swirling inside. 

It sounded terrifying, Aqua reckoned, to suddenly gain so many powerful feelings and emotions. Granted, she gained them all on a daily basis but at least she was used to them.

Although Roxas spent most of his time with Lea, it was undeniable that he and Sora had some kind of special bond that Aqua didn't quite understand. They seemed somewhat bound to each other. Their fighting styles were similar, their mannerisms. They had even picked up a tendency to finish each other's sentences. They were somewhat like twins with their special connection although Aqua didn't know if either boy would appreciate having that relationship tied to them.

Roxas spent very little time with Riku. For the first few days they avoided complete contact, and then only when necessary. Joint training sessions had been sullen and silent, and it had only been recently when Roxas had dared to make a jab about him beating him way back when that had summoned a equally mocking retort. It had been easier since then when they engaged in mocking banter, although Aqua could tell that their relationship was definitely still rocky.

But her and Roxas....she couldn't really remember a moment in which they had exchanged more than a few words. Which is why it surprised her so when he dropped down next to him in one of her rare moments of rest after training.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Hello," 

"You're..Aqua, right?" Roxas asked hesitantly, and Aqua nodded in response.

"Yeah. I don't think we've properly met?" she lifted a hand to shake.

Roxas took her hand in a surprisingly strong grip and shook. 

"You probably know I'm Roxas," he said, not arrogantly, but rather sheepishly. "Riku suggested I go to you to help with my magic,"

Aqua's eyes widened in surprise. She honestly hadn't expected Roxas to willingly approach for any reason at all, let alone to receive training.

Aqua smiled gently at him, jumping to her feet up off the steps. "Sure. I can teach you some things. How much do you know?"

Roxas stood up slower, and seemed to think his answer over in great detail.

"I used to be able to do basic spells, fire, blizzard, thunder. And then I specialised in light magic. But ever since I've separated with Sora..." he lifted a hand and made a motion, obviously trying to cast a spell. A small puff of smoke was the only reward for his efforts, and said hand curled into a fist in visible frustration. 

That certainly struck Aqua as strange. Although magical ability could decline with a lack of practise, magic was something you never really forgot. She'd never seen a problem like Roxas was having, and truthfully she didn't know what to go around saying to reassure the boy.

"You need a being to do magic," Roxas said suddenly, dragging Aqua out of her thoughts. "As a nobody I had almost all of Sora's power, his presence. Now I barely have anything..."

It hurt Aqua to hear a boy who looked so much like Ven to talk like that. It hurt her, but it also helped her understand, and she realised that she knew exactly why his magic wouldn't respond to him.

"Magic is all about belief," she began, gaining Roxas's attention. "More than talent or technique, one needs confidence in their abilities. You can't just expect the magic to appear. You need to want it. You produced smoke, right? That's proof that there's magic running in your veins. Magic that is whole and real, just like you," 

Roxas blinked slowly, looking back down at his hands. "That's..."

"You can't expect results right away of course," Aqua continued gently. "But as long as you practice and don't lose faith in your abilities, I see no reason why your magic won't go back to the way it was," she paused, considering it. "Or perhaps even better. Besides, now you have the power of emotions on your side as well,"

"The power of emotions," Roxas muttered to himself. For a moment Aqua feared he might scoff at her, brush off her words and leave, but he seemed to actually consider them, nodding slowly.

"I'd be happy to practice the more technical side of things with you," Aqua offered honestly. "You say you know basic elemental spells? I can teach you some more exciting magic. Magnet magic is serious fun."

Roxas still seemed a little shell shocked but he seemed to take her words to heart. "I'd appreciate that," he said softly, and then cast his gaze to where Sora and Riku were dueling. "They seem to use magic I've never even heard of before. Like...with balloons?"

Aqua's smile drooped ever so slightly. "Ah. Balloon magic. I'm not personally accustomed to it, but at this rate it may be our greatest weapon against Xehanort," at Roxas's blank stare she raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, I'm serious!"

Roxas put a hand over his mouth, and to Aqua's extreme surprise, laughed.

The sound was heartachingly familiar. If Aqua closed her eyes...

She wasn't going to go there. 

Roxas's laughter died down, perhaps sensing Aqua's suddenly melancholy mood. 

"I heard Sora and Ax-I mean Lea are planning the rescue mission for your friend in two days time," he said quietly.

Aqua nodded. She already knew this. "Yeah,"

"And you're not going to be there?" although Aqua was sure that it wasn't his intention, there was something accusing about Roxas's tone of voice.

Aqua winced. She knew he was going to ask that but it still hurt to have it out there in the open. Ever since she'd heard about Ventus's rescue mission and the fact she couldn't come she'd been locked in a mental battle inside her own brain, her heart fighting with her common sense.

"Believe me, I hate having to do this. But Ventus has met a younger Lea and Sora before. I hope they can offer him some sort of comfort. Riku and I are going to save Terra. There's no time to pick and choose, we have to save them both as soon as we can before Xehanort makes his next move," it was the same words she repeated in her head every spare moment she had. This was necessary. She couldn't be there for both of them.

She needed to trust in Sora.

She expected some kind of angry rebuttal from Roxas, to be told that she was wrong. But instead he just bowed his head in acceptance.

"So what am I doing?" 

"You and Kairi are going to stay here and train under Merlin. You need all the help you can get," by complete instinct Aqua leant over a little, lifting a hand to ruffle through Roxas's hair. Almost as soon as she completed the action she froze in horror. But to her surprise Roxas didn't really react, didn't flinch or recoil, but stayed still and steady underneath her hand. She withdrew her hand slowly letting it fall back to her side.

"Can't I go and help Ventus of Terra?"

Aqua shook her head slowly. "Roxas...I really wish you could come. I don't want to panic Ven when he sees someone that looks just like him...and it's the same with Terra,"

Roxas seemed to noticeably tense up a little bit, shoulders locking up. "So it's because I look like Ventus,"

Aqua thought of denying that, coming up with half baked reassurances, but looked into Roxas's familiar blue eyes and instead the spoke the truth.

"Yes,"

Roxas inhaled sharply. He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly, closing those expressive eyes of his.

"First Sora, now Ventus..." he didn't finish that thought, but it was obvious what he was thinking.

"Y'know," Aqua remarked. "Looks aside, I don't think you're much like either of them."

That got Roxas's attention, his eyes snapping open. "What?"

"You're a little more broody than I remember Ven being," she admitted, and then let a somewhat mischievous chuckle escape. "You're determined like Sora, yes, but you have different ambitions, different goals," Aqua smiles. "You're not the same,"

Roxas looked at her, really looked at her, and then his gaze flit back down to his dominant hand, his keyblade wielding one.

He took in a deep breath, and a burst of light confirmed that he'd successfully summoned his keyblade. Not the one he remembered, though.

This one was entirely his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! Hell yeah I just insinuated a new keyblade. Roxas gets his own heart-he gets his own keyblade, that's how it works. No clue what it looks like, but I'll leave it up to your imagination.
> 
> Excpect infrequent updates. Maybe monthly? I have an idea for what I want to do next with this, but I'm also aware that Christmas is a thing happening and I may want to write something Christmas themed for KH...I might separely post some other already written work to tide you guys over so that I can eventually work on this. Thanks so much for your cooperation! :D


	6. Gifts and Midnight (Sora, Kairi, Riku)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When they were five years old, Sora's Christmas present to Kairi had been a massive hug, with so much force and affection in it that it send her hurtling to the ground. She was brushing sand out of her clothes for ages, but it was no price to pay considering the happiness in her eyes._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _"But you give her a hug almost everyday," Riku had argued, seemingly confused._
> 
>  
> 
> _"Yes, but this is a special Christmas hug just for Kairi," Sora clarified, and that was that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise guys! This is not a proper entry into this series, but two drably Christmas themed fics that I deemed too short to be their own fics! I received two prompts 'gifts' and 'midnight' and these two drabbles were born. (Okay only the first one is really Christmassy) Enjoy'

When they were five years old, Sora's Christmas present to Kairi had been a massive hug, with so much force and affection in it that it send her hurtling to the ground. She was brushing sand out of her clothes for ages, but it was no price to pay considering the happiness in her eyes.

"But you give her a hug almost everyday," Riku had argued, seemingly confused.

"Yes, but this is a special Christmas hug just for Kairi," Sora clarified, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/-/

When they were six years old, Kairi's Christmas present to Sora was a clumsily made crown of daisies picked from the Mainland. She placed it atop his head like she was crowning a king, and he in turn wore it with the reverence he felt it deserved.

"That's pretty girly, Sora," Riku teased when he insisted on heading to the play island with flowers falling over his eyes.

"Well, yeah, but it's a Christmas present from Kairi!" Sora sulked in response, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/-/

When they were seven years old, Sora's Christmas present to Kairi was entrance to the secret place. He took her hand and lead her through the cave. The girl had been twitching with excitement the whole way, and had been in awe of the crude stick drawings Sora and Riku had carved into the walls.

-/-/-/-/-

"Sora..." Riku was unhappy, it was clear by the way he refused to meet the younger boy's eyes.

"It's Christmas, Riku!" was his response. And then Sora paused. "And it's Kairi!" he nodded to accentuate his point, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/-

When they were eight years old, Kairi's Christmas present to Sora was a messy portrait drawn onto the cave wall. Sora had been ecstatic about it, and rewarded Kairi with one of his trademark hugs.

"It's not exactly handsome," Riku remarked, squinting at it from all angles.

"It's a Christmas present from Kairi," Sora said defensively, eyes gleaming dangerously. "Of course its handsome," he continued admiring the piece's artistic genius, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were nine years old, Sora's Christmas present to Kairi was a messy portrait drawn onto the cave wall. Kairi had laughed for about half an hour upon seeing it, although he didn't exactly know why.

"I think it's the nose," Riku decided, after Sora had retreated to his best friend for support.

"You think?" Sora deflated. "It's my Christmas present to Kairi and I worked really hard on it. I hoped she might appreciate it more," he didn't mope for long, quickly growing distracted and chirpy again, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were ten years old, Kairi's Christmas present to Sora was a watch, emblazoned with one of his favourite cartoon characters. She had been proud to announce that she'd bought it with her own money, she'd been getting pocket money from her parents. For some reason to Sora he felt less happy with this present than her previous ones, even thought this one held actual value.

"It's the impersonality of it," Riku, eleven years old, and oh so wise, told him. 

"Yeah?" Sora frowned, unconvinced. "But why should that matter? Kairi's Christmas presents are the best!" but Riku's knowledge and wisdom obviously didn't extend that far, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were eleven years old, Sora's Christmas present to Kairi was a cute bracelet, decorated with little seashells. His mother had helped him save up to buy it. Kairi loved it, or at least she appeared to, but Sora couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that she'd been happier with her previous presents.

"You try too hard," Riku had apparently entered the 'moody preteen' stage, and all attempts to communicate with him ended in monosyllabic or unhelpful responses.

"I might be overreacting. I think she liked it. I mean, Kairi loves Christmas, so why wouldn't she love this?" Riku grunted in response, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were twelve years old, Kairi's Christmas present to Sora was a kiss on the cheek. The action caused him to go scarlet from head to toe, but he awkwardly returned the action, and felt a fluttery kind of happiness in his belly.

"So what did Kairi get you this year?" Riku asked absentmindedly. Sora had never mentioned the kiss to him.

"Oh well," Sora replied awkwardly. "Just something crafty. You know how bad Kairi is at buying Christmas presents," Riku didn't push the subject, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were thirteen years old, Sora's present to Kairi was a ring carved out of wood and plastic with the prettiest seashell he could find on it. She had gaped at him, accepted the ring, and promptly ran off, freaking out for some reason.

"You don't just give a girl a ring unless you mean to marry them. What age are you, thirteen or five?" Riku snorted as he relayed his tale.

"But I do want to marry her. And she accepted it," Sora smiled to himself. "If I was to marry Kairi, I think I'd want it to be on Christmas," Riku rolled his eyes, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/

When they were fourteen years old, Kairi's present to him was the idea of exploring the worlds. Somehow that resulted in them being scattered across them, without any sort of contact until they eventually met again.

"Take care of her," Riku said, as the doors closed around them.

And Sora found himself separated from both Riku and Kairi on Christmas Day.

-/-/-/-/

When they were fifteen years old, Sora's present to Kairi was a Thalassa Charm. She pulled him up off the beach, smiling at him, but kept the charm sitting in his palm. She wrapped her arms around his middle, smiling at him broadly. 

And then her hand moved to grab Riku by the shoulder, and she flung a hand around each of their arms, so that they were all together as one.

"Kairi, Riku," Sora began, struggling to combat the tears in his eyes. "This was the best Christmas present ever," both of his friends laughed, instantly moving to tease him. His smile overrode the tears sliding down his cheeks, and that was that.

-/-/-/-/  
-/-/-/-/

Midnight:

 

"3,2,1..."

"Happy New Year!" Sora's voice soared above those of his two companions, a huge grin blooming on his face as the clock struck midnight. From behind them they could hear similar sounds of celebration, their friends and family all congratulating each other on the new year.

They'd probably go out and try find them later, but for now Sora wanted these moments with his friends, wanted to share the minute when time shifted to a brand new year.

A firework lit up the sky, exploding with a loud pop and sending trails of red and green sparking across the horizon.

"That was one hell of a year," Kairi said finally, breaking their calm lull of silence.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. It was fun, though,"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "I think you and I have different definitions of the word fun, Sora,"

"I think it would be safer to say a lot happened," Kairi cut in smoothly, craning her neck to stare at the sky. "Good and bad,"

Sora hummed an affirmative. "Yeah, but next year-well, this year is going to be all positive," he followed Kairi's gaze, and the three friends were silent for a moment, looking up at the stars. It was a perfectly clear night, the stars twinkling like studded diamonds on a velvet backdrop. Sora could pick out a couple of constellations, and the polar star. "Y'know, I never noticed before, but the stars are the same in all the worlds," he lifted a finger to point at one, tracing the outline of it with his thumb. "Which one's that?"

"That's the great bear," Riku said immediately, following suit and connecting the stars with his index finger.

"How can you tell?" Sora asked, squinting. They all really looked the same to him. A pretty collection of stars, which occasionally made a funny shape.

Riku sighed in exasperation. "Look. There's the head, that's the body-"

"Nope. Sorry, I really don't see it,"

"Got to agree with Sora on this one," Kairi admitted, looking a tad sheepish, "I can't really see it either,"

"Oh whatever," Riku dismissed, smiling at his companions. "The point is, it's like what you were saying Sora, yeah? The stars are always there, no matter where we are,"

"They all share the same sky," Kairi echoed fondly, looking up at Sora with a gentle smile on her face.

The clock struck its final decisive strike, the minute having finished. Sora heard footsteps on the cold sand, their friends and family coming out to look for them. He looped an arm around Riku's, pulling him down to his level, and linked the other around Kairi's shoulder.

"Happy New year guys!" he cheered again, hugging his two greatest friends in the whole world against him. "Let's make it a good one,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah they were pretty bad haha. I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, but on Christmas (or after that time depending on when I'm able) I have a longer Christmas fic all ready to go. And once December is done with I can focus on the main entries in this series again! (Which, as always, if you have any ideas for me to consider please tell me) thanks for your patience and merry Christmas!
> 
> Next time: Rocking Around the Christmas tree


	7. Wishing A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (Ensemble)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"I'm on the naughty list, Riku, did you know that?" Sora folded his arms, and his expression could only be described as a fierce sulk._
> 
> _The silver haired boy rolled his eyes but complied. "It doesn't exactly come as a surprise,"_
> 
> _"Do you know why?" Sora pressed, standing up on his toes to look Riku in the eye._
> 
> _"I can think of many reasons why," his best friend simply looked bemused._
> 
> _Sora lifted his hand to point accusingly at Riku, mouth set into a hard frown. "Because you made me say Santa didn't exist!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's a little after Christmas. WHoops. I hope everyone had a merry christmas, happy Hanukkah or just an all around good day. This fic is short, sweet and average, but I guess take it as a belated Christmas gift? I really appreciate all the support ive gotten for this story. WIthout further ado here is the story

"I'm on the naughty list, Riku, did you know that?" Sora folded his arms, and his expression could only be described as a fierce sulk. 

The silver haired boy rolled his eyes but complied. "It doesn't exactly come as a surprise,"

"Do you know why?" Sora pressed, standing up on his toes to look Riku in the eye.

"I can think of many reasons why," his best friend simply looked bemused.

Sora lifted his hand to point accusingly at Riku, mouth set into a hard frown. "Because you made me say Santa didn't exist!"

Riku let out one of the longest sighs Sora had ever heard, proof that he was absolutely done. Just done. With like, everything.

"I didn't make you say he didn't exist, Sora. That was your own choice,"

"Peer pressure!" was the shrieked response and Riku unleashed another eye roll.

"Fine, Sora. I'm sorry," 

Sora narrowed his eyes, examining him closely. "You don't look very sorry to me,"

If Riku didn't have pride, dignity, and acted less than half his age he probably would have face planted onto the ground and just remained there for the rest of his meagre existence. But he had all of those things, so he settled instead for turning to the mediator in the room to settle the debate.

"I'm glad I never listened to you as a kid, Riku," was all Kairi had to offer to the conversation. "As far as I know, I'm still on the nice list,"

The auburn haired girl smirked triumphantly, and both boys' countenances slumped even lower.

"C'mon, isn't this supposed to be a training session? Great example you're giving to your students, Master Riku," Kairi teased lightly, eyes teeming with mischief. How come she got to be on the good list whilst being so instinctively devious.

She was right. They were currently in Radiant Garden, keyblades out and ready for sparring. It was cold, frost dusting the tips of the grass and declaring the time as late Winter.

"This is off topic," Riku said finally. "You're right. We're supposed to be practicing. How did we get from thunder spells to this?"

"Because it's two weeks till Christmas you buzzkill," Sora stuck his tongue out rudely. "It's very much on topic,"

"Christmas happens to be very special to us too," a new voice broke through, and the trio turned to see Aqua emerge from a building, poised as elegant as ever with Ventus skipping along next to her.

"Master Aqua," Riku greeted, whilst Sora simultaneously let out an informal. 'Yo! Aqua, Ven!' in lieu of greeting.

"Good morning everyone,". Aqua smiled gently. "Sorry if I surprised you. I heard you talking shout Christmas and...well...we hold many fond memories of such a time,"

"Huh. I never really thought of it before, but a lot of holidays aren't generally shared throughout worlds. Christmas though....it always seems to be there, in some way or another," Sora said thoughtfully, before shrugging it off with a massive grin.

"That's cos Christmas is awesome!" Ventus chirped. "What's not to like about a holiday about giving? Its my favourite holiday of the year!" the young (or old?) keyblade wielder practically beamed as a look of nostalgia overtook his face. His happiness was short-lived, however, almost instantly replaced by a look of overwhelming sadness. "It's just a pity that Terra went..." he cut himself off almost immediately, shoulders hunching and gaze fixed on the ground.

A blanket of solemnity draped over their small group, and there was a few seconds of awkward silence as everyone bumbled around wondering what to say. Ventus looked embarrassed for even bringing it up.

"Hey, are we talking about whose been good this year?" trust Lea to break the silence, striding out towards them with complete and total confidence. He was dressed sparsely, arms and ankles exposed. He wasn't shivering or gritting his teeth, the cold seeming to truly have no effect in him. "Because if anyone's going to be getting Santa's approval, it's yours truly,"

"Yo! Axel!" Sora greeted cheerily, relieved that the tension was broken.

The pyromaniac's brow furrowed, a loud sigh escaping him. "Do I really have to spell this out to you? My name. It's Lea-"

"We've got it memorised," Ventus finished for him, grinning cheekily. Lea seemed to falter for a second, an emotion akin to nostalgia glimmering in his eyes before being instantly replaced by apathy. He got like that sometimes, especially when he was dealing with Ventus. Sora could guess that the keyblade wielder reminded him of Roxas in more ways than one.

"You say that, but you all forget it, every darn time." he let out a mock irritated groan. "You and Miss Master never even knew me as Axel, but you still call me that!"

"Sorry, Lea," Kairi cut in, beaming cheekily. "Sora's a bad influence,"

"Am not!" Sora retorted sharply. "Riku's the one who suggested we go on an adventure on a raft,"

"S-Shut up!"

Aqua looked momentarily puzzled. "You did what now?"

Riku coughed into his fist, face flushing a little in embarrassment. "It's uh...not important,"

Lea snickered deviously. "Seems like our new master isn't as reliable as we all thought,"

Riku made an incomprehensible noise, and Sora felt immense relief at the dispel of tension. He laughed happily along with the others until Ventus made an interesting proposition.

"I heard that in worlds like, uh, Radiant Garden," he snuck a look at Lea "They do a celebration involving trees and decorations," he hesitated slightly. "I guess I thought that as we're spending a Christmas here, we could maybe do something similar?"

"You're right," Kairi said thoughtfully. "Although Christmas might seem to be a universal holiday amongst all the world, not all celebrate it the same way. We don't have a tree or anything. We exchange presents to show our gratitude, and Santa is definitely a story sold to the younger kids-" Sora made an aggravated noise. "But I don't think it's nearly extravagant as what Radiant Garden does,"

"You're wrong, y'know," Lea yawned as if bored, although all present knew that it was a mere facade. "Sure we have a tree, but the biggest event is the decorating of it. You set up the tree and then family, friends, colleagues, they bring little decorations and hang 'em. Some leave messages, some leave cute little trinkets. Presents aren't that big a deal here," he shrugged halfheartedly. "It's more about community and bringing everyone together," he snorted. "And crap like that,"

"That sounds really cute," Kairi admitted, a small smile flickering across her face. "Do you think we could do that?"

"Bet we could," Sora beamed. "That's a great idea, Lea, didn't know you were so sentimental,"

That earned him a scoff and an eye roll from the firestarter, who shook his head almost fondly at him. "Don't be getting ahead of yourself," he made an exasperated sort of noise and continued. "You need a tree, first, remember?"

Ventus contemplated this for a second. "How hard can that be?"

Aqua's mouth curved into a small frown. "Harder than you'd think, I'm guessing,"

"Nah, not really," Lea said, waving a dismissive hand. "Reckon you'd be able to chop one down with a keyblade,"

Ventus hesitated, clearly unsure. "Umm..."

"Well what else are we going to do?" Sora pressed, face twisted in an expression of great concentration. "I'll cut it down. Or we can get Leon to do it,"

"Why Leon?"

Sora shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. He doesn't really seem to do anything and I figure that sword of his must be useful for something,"

Riku sighed fondly, shaking his head at his younger friend's antics. "You need an axe, Sora, not a-"

"If we hit it with a hard enough wind spell do you think it would fall over?" Ventus mused aloud, successfully garnering everyone's attention.

Aqua's eyes widened. "Ven...that's uh..." her expression went from horrified to amused in less than a second, a small chuckle escaping her. "Maybe not the best idea."

"Worth a shot," the younger mumbled softly, and the group once again lapsed into silence.

Finally Kairi clapped her hands together and summoned her keyblade in a brilliant flash of light. "I say we go with the original plan. Sora, if you and me work together, I'm sure we can cut a lousy tree down," determination shone in her bright eyes, an expression matched by her childhood friend.

"Count me in too. It sounds like, fun," Lea likewise summoned his keyblade with ease unnatural to him.

"Why can't you summon it as easily as that during training?" Riku sighed.

"It's Christmas, Riku, it's a special occasion,"

The young keyblade master only put his head in his hands, letting out a low sound of protest. "We were supposed to be practicing..."

Sora beamed at him. "Some things are more important, Riku! C'mon! Let's all go find a tree. The absolute biggest one we can find!"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The tree was not the biggest they could find. It turned out that both Yen Sid and the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee had a problem with a twenty foot tree. The tree had now been reduced to a modest seven feet. The majority of the day had been sent stringing Christmas lights across it, in all shapes and colours. The result was that the tree looked like rainbow vomit, but on the bright side the strobe flashing option for them had been mercifully turned off.

They decorated the tree simply, although with no real pattern or colour scheme in mind. It ended up a horrible mismatch of colours and shapes, with some odd tinsel floating around the bottom branches and something that looked suspiciously like the starseeker keyblade (how?) hooked near the top.

Plenty of room was left over for more decorations when people wanted to add them.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

The day after the tree went up, a miniature Thalassa shell was added. It had been made with painstaking care just like the original, and sat proudly next to a beautifully modelled papou fruit. Between them, completing the trinity, was a keychain in the shape of a mouse's head. 

Sora loved his friends,

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Two days after the tree went up, two creations reminiscent of papou fruit went up, one blue, one green. They sat proud but looked almost lost and lonely on the branches, as if something was missing.

Five days later an orange decoration hung on the same branch, and finally, it looked complete.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

It was testament to Lea's laziness that the decoration he put up was not something he'd crafted, but an ice cream stick held up with some string. The word 'Winner' was written across the side. The stick didn't look as out of place as it perhaps should have, despite its crude appearance. It looked lost though. There was no doubting that.

Three days later a sea salt ice cream charm appeared. 

Six days later and a pristine white flower joined them and the branch no longer looked empty,

-/-/-/-/-/-/

A keychain of crayons jingled when everyone brushed past it, just above Kairi's Thalassa charm. A miniature sketchbook sat directly next to it, and a flip through its thumb sized pages revealed drawings worth far more than how much they initially appeared. 

Every day there was a new drawing,

-/-/-/-/-/

Slowly, one by one, little keyblade models started to dot the branches. Sora didn't know how, but he knew that Cid had a knack for this kind of thing. And besides, seeing a scowling Cloud place a miniature buster sword on the tree was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

And as time passed, more of their friends came back. Sora got to meet people he'd never met before, like Terra, and those he had the faintest recollection of, like they had met in a past life, like Xion.

The day before Christmas Lea arrived with Isa huddled in his arms, and his claymore took a spot right next to Lea's chakrams.

By the time Christmas finally arrived, they had practically already won.

Sora placed the heart at the top of the tree.

Twelve days later they took it all down again and tucked their decorations into their pockets, ready for a next time, whenever it would come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed. We're heading back to normal two people oneshots for next week and as always I'm happy to hear suggestions.
> 
> Next time: The scars on my soul (Riku & Ventus)


	8. The Scars on My Soul (Riku & Ventus)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"No...it's just-" Ventus knew he was acting childish, he knew it. But it felt like he hadn't aged a day in the past twelve or so years and sometimes he acted that way. A sudden thought hit him. "I'm older than you,"_
> 
> _"What? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess," Riku seemed shocked by the sudden topic change, not that Ventus could blame him._
> 
> _"I'm in my twenties." Ventus murmured aloud, and although he had thought about the concept before he had never put numbers to his age before._
> 
> _It was...bizarre._
> 
> _And a little depressing, honestly. Ventus had wanted to be a keyblade master by the age of what? Seventeen? And here he was, nearly ten years after that, and his skill had only regressed if anything._

Ventus had scars deeper than those that could be seen on the surface.

They all had, really, gaping wounds etched across their heart, cuts and bruises trapping their soul. 

But Ventus's just happened to be worse than most. Maybe it had to do with Vanitas, with Xehanort and the X-blade, or perhaps it was just the fact that he'd been asleep for the uppermost of twelve years.

But nevertheless, whatever the reason-he was scared. 

He was terrified of anything and everything-the dark, the light, other people. It seemed as if when Ventus had gone to sleep all those years ago he had died, and the one who had awoken was a completely different person. Ventus was still bright like the sun, still smiled and laughed as loudly and clearly as before.

But it was an undoubtable fact that he had changed.

So had Aqua, and that hurt Ventus more than he'd like to admit. It wasn't noticeable, not exactly, not until they had seen the man occupying Terra's body walk away.

And she had let him. In fact she'd held him back as he kicked and screamed, injured from their battle with him, but still fighting. He had been mad at her for days, maybe childishly, but despite the fact that he was apparently many years older than he looked or felt, he was indeed a child.

The anger had faded away eventually. Only to be reignited full force when Aqua declared that she would go after Terra and try to save him. Alone.

Accompanying her would be Mickey, and although Ventus counted himself on good terms with the king, he was also adamant about not letting him tag along.

"You still need to train," Mickey said sternly. "Your moves haven't been quite the same since you went to sleep,"

That was true. Ventus's keyblade never felt right in his hand anymore, and sometimes it would take a few seconds to answer his calls for summons, as if questioning his worthiness to wield it.

But although that was true, Ventus knew that it was really just an excuse. They thought he wasn't mentally sound. They feared that if they couldn't save Terra, or he said something particularly scathing, that he'd be tipped over the edge and break, maybe fall to the darkness.

He was stronger than that. Couldn't any of them see?

The third and final person on the mission to save Terra was Riku, the newest and youngest Keyblade Master. 

There was always something about Riku that reminded Ventus of Vanitas. Maybe it was the way that he could feel the darkness in him, freely roaming hand in hand with th light. Or maybe it was that he reminded him of himself when fused with Vanitas, a perfect balance of light and dark. No matter the reason, Ventus had never held a proper conversation with him. Oh sure, they'd talked over breakfast and Riku had shared one or two particularly embarrassing stories about Sora (who Ventus did actually get along with) whilst Ventus held back laughter.

But they hadn't talked, and Ventus didn't know why Riku was cloaked in darkness and Riku didn't know why he was the purest of light. All Ventus could think of was the fact that sending all three of their keyblade Masters on a mission like this was stupid. What if it was a trap? What if Xehanort attacked where they were training?

....when had he gotten so pessimistic?

"It'll be fine," Sora had said casually when he'd voiced his concerns. "I guess nobody told you, but I'm basically a master myself,"

Ventus had raised an eyebrow in response. "You took the mark of mastery exam didn't you? If you're a true keyblade master you would have been named one,"

Yup, he still had it.

"Ow! That's still a sore spot, okay?" Sora had sulked spectacularly, before the cheer returned to his face. "It's not my fault I failed the exam. It's Xehanort and the Organisation's. Anyways, you've seen me in action. I'm pretty good, right?" He'd beamed knowingly at Ventus, awaiting his praise.

Ventus had let loose a little chuckle, feeling some of the tension lift. "If we forget about yesterday's incident in training, sure,"

Sora had blushed and then scowled before challenging him, but the subject had hence died away. But it still bothered Ventus more than he readily wished to admit.

No in truth, he wasn't worried that Riku leaving would leave them with less protection. That was more or less a convenient excuse. He was jealous, and the very thought of that sent white hot guilt lacing through his veins. Aqua had always told him to be grateful of what he had and the company he shared, Eraqus too. Terra had fallen victim to jealousy, there was no denying it, Ventus had finally taken off his rose tinted glasses to see the truth...Ventus didn't want to fall down that same dark path, yet his thoughts persisted.

He was scared. So scared, because dark thoughts led to the darkness, and he was oh so scared of the darkness and the way it seemed to weigh down his body, fill his every limb with aching dread.

He had to save Terra. He had to. He had to, or else his mind would go crazy coming up with scenarios of things that could go wrong. What if Terra couldn't be saved? What if Aqua was hurt? Ventus didn't know what he'd do if he lost her as well as Terra.

He had to go on this mission with her. But she wasn't budging, and neither was Mickey. So that left him to appeal to Riku. They'd met, obviously, on numerous occasions. He'd been there when he'd woken up, eyes wide with shock and something like recognition. Ventus remembered feeling confused as Riku had pulled a flabbergasted Lea aside almost immediately although thanks to an impromptu meeting on a rooftop, he now knew why. Riku had struck Ventus as kind of cool, even through the haze of the next few days as he had come to terms with existing again. Ventus had been too exhausted (ironic, huh, with how long he'd been sleeping) to even walk out of Castle Oblivion, so Aqua had to carry him, leaving Sora and Riku to dispose of the monsters still roaming the halls. It hadn't been a problem for them, of course.

Ventus still couldn't read him though. Him or Sora. 

"Hey, uh, Ventus?"

Ventus's head shot upwards at the familiar voice, flinching backwards in surprise as the subject of his thoughts stood over him, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Riku!" Ventus didn't quite fall over at Riku's sudden arrival, but he definitely lost his balance, nearly pitching forward from his position on the steps.

Riku watched him as he steadied himself, guilt tinting his eyes. "You looked deep in thought, I probably shouldn't have surprised you like that,"

Fighting off quickly growing embarrassment Ventus shook his head rapidly. "No, no. We should be aware at all times, in case of attack, right?"

Riku studied him for a second longer, appearing hesitant. "I guess. Still rude of me,"

Ventus didn't quite know how to react to that, choosing instead to restart the conversation. "Did you need something?"

"Not urgently. If you're busy-" Riku's voice trailed off. Ventus had been sitting in the same position for about half an hour now. The only thing he was busy doing was battling his own thoughts.

Curiosity got the better of Ventus despite himself, and he felt a glimmer of hope bubble up inside of him. "No, go ahead,"

"I wanted to talk to you," Riku began, and Ventus knew that the boy could be socially awkward, but this was completely different. His aquamarine eyes didn't meet his gaze, choosing instead to stare at the ground. "About...Terra,"

Ventus had known that he'd been the topic of conversation. Somehow, as soon as Riku had entered Ventus's field of view, he had known. So he didn't yelp, or gape, or stutter as if taken aback. He simply nodded, and waited for what Riku would say.

He surveyed him curiously. "But I guess you knew that, huh?"

Suddenly feeling sheepish, Ventus fidgeted a little, a self deprecating smile appearing on his lips. "I had a hunch,"

"I know you want to go with us to save Terra," Riku said bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat his words. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly, worry etching across his face. "And I know Aqua has to go. Mickey too, he's better at piloting the Gumni ship. Believe me. It was never my plan to go along with them. I wanted it to be you too. I thought it'd only be fair if it was you too."

But why, then, Ventus wanted to ask. But why were they even having this conversation? 

But he didn't, because he suspected he was going to get an answer. And that he wasn't going to like it.

"But...at the same time, now that I've talked to Aqua, I feel like I need to go. Terra's important to me too, you know,"

Curiosity overcame disappointment or anger in this situation. "You know Terra," it was a statement, not a question.

Riku nodded, obviously far away in a long gone memory. "Yeah. He gave me my keyblade." he paused, and closed his eyes, guilt tinting his features. "And I talked to Yen Sid and he thinks I can save him,"

Ventus froze as his thoughts fell into place. He thought of Riku's keyblade, the sharp curves, the dark colours, the defiant bat wing. He tried to compare it to Terra's, big and earthy and strong, but they didn't come together right in his head at all. 

Riku seemed to catch his look of confusion and let out a self deprecating chuckle. "Well...sort of,"

Ventus sighed, allowing his chin to fall onto his hands. "And that's just that then? I can't go?"

A pained expression crossed Riku's face. "Ventus, I-"

"No...it's just-" Ventus knew he was acting childish, he knew it. But it felt like he hadn't aged a day in the past twelve or so years and sometimes he acted that way. A sudden thought hit him. "I'm older than you,"

"What? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess," Riku seemed shocked by the sudden topic change, not that Ventus could blame him.

"I'm in my twenties." Ventus murmured aloud, and although he had thought about the concept before he had never put numbers to his age before.

It was...bizarre.

And a little depressing, honestly. Ventus had wanted to be a keyblade master by the age of what? Seventeen? And here he was, nearly ten years after that, and his skill had only regressed if anything.

"You should take it," Riku said suddenly, and Ventus's gaze snapped up to his.

"Huh,"

"The mark of Mastery exam. I think you'd pass," Riku smiled encouragingly but it still looked decidedly uncomfortable although whether it was out of doubt or sheer discomfort Ventus couldn't ascertain.

"Wait, how did you-"

"You were talking aloud," Riku grinned this time, a proper grin, and then reached over, all hesitance abandoned, to ruffle a hand through Ventus's hair.

The familiar gesture stalled Ventus for a moment, reminding him of simpler times, of Aqua and Terra teasing him, of patting him on the head. But then he returned to the present and sulked spectacularly.

"I'm older than you," he reminded him.

Riku laughed a little, awkwardness dispelled. "Think about it, seriously. Maybe then Aqua will consider letting you go on missions like these," his expression became concerned. "She just wants to protect you,"

Ventus bowed his head, unwilling to meet Riku's prying eyes. "I know," he breathed, and was surprised to find how genuine and not bitter he sounded. "I'll think about it,"

Riku cleared his throat, and instinctively Ventus looked back up at him. "I'll bring Terra back, don't worry,"

"I won't," Ventus replied, and then he hesitated. "It's not Terra's fault. Any of it,"

Riku seemed to observe him for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah. Aqua knows that too, you know,"

"Yeah," Ventus mumbled and then reaffirmed himself. "Yeah,"

He wondered idly where all of his anger had gone. Yesterday he'd practically been screaming at Aqua, throwing a tantrum more like.

Now...it had all sort of dissolved, and he was left feeling embarrassed at his actions. He should apologise to Aqua. It wasn't her fault, none of it was. 

He'd just been looking for someone to blame.

"We're leaving within the hour," Riku said finally. "You should talk to Aqua,"

"I will,"

Riku nodded a little awkwardly then before turning on his heel. Even after he had literally bared his soul to Ventus he still seemed hesitant, self conscious, not quite confident in his own body, his own movements.

Ventus stood up abruptly. "Riku!"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks,"

Riku smiled, and that was the last time Ventus saw him for almost two months.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Ventus became a keyblade master two weeks after Riku left. It had kind of felt like honouring Riku's last wishes in a way, fulfilling his duty.

Even though he was angry at Riku. He had promised to come back, Terra in tow,

They were supposed to have been only gone for a week. But despite the lack of evidence and gloating from their enemies, everyone apart from Ventus and Sora had more or less accepted that they were dead.

Ventus refused to accept it. Aqua was the strongest person Ventus knew. 

And Riku...he possessed an entirely different kind of strength, strength Ventus himself wanted to possess. The strength to get over one's past and the actions performed in that past. Riku was strong not because he left behind his past but because he didn't. He took the darkness, a foreboding reminder of a terrible time and used it as a weapon, modded to his own will.

Ventus wanted to do that. He took his mark of mastery with Sora and when they both passed Ventus felt his first spark of happiness since Aqua and Riku's disappearance only for it to be instantly dampened by the fact that he couldn't share the moment with his friends.

They weren't dead. 

Yen Sid had said so himself, hadn't he? He had gotten all, 'I can sense their lingering presence in this world' on them. Not that was an incredibly optimistic bit of foresight but at this point Ventus would take anything.

"They're not dead," it was like a daily ritual between him and Sora, the whispering of reassurances in the dead of night. It always helped steady him somewhat. Even as the days went by, Sora's words never lost confidence. "They're too strong for that,"

"Aqua gave me the keyblade," Kairi said out of the blue one day, ambushing him after training. "I'm connected to her. I can feel her. She's not dead. And Riku's stronger than you can imagine,"

"The two of them are keyblade masters," Lea mumbled dismissively, on the tower roof. "And they both have some pretty hot moves. I doubt they'd be taken out so easily,"

"Aqua's been teaching me magic. She's strong," talking to Roxas makes Ventus uncomfortable and he can tell that it's mutual by the other's insistence of not looking into his eyes. And I've fought Riku. He's tough," 

Maybe he was wrong, he realised, after Xion, who had never even met Aqua reassured him that she believed in their continued survival.

Nobody was giving up on them.

So when Aqua and Riku stumbled into sight, supporting an unconscious Terra between them, Ventus wasted no time gasping in shock or disbelief.

He was, after all, not surprised.

When it was all over, once he'd hugged Aqua and made her promise never to leave again, Riku walked up to him, with the backdrop of a thousand stars.

"Hey," he looked a little worse for wear, clothes rumpled and hair greasy, the very image of unkemptness. But he was still smiling, and Ventus found himself returning the greeting with the same expression. "I heard you're a keyblade Master now,"

Despite himself Ventus swelled with pride. "Yup! And Sora too,"

Riku's grin grew wider. "I never doubted either of you,"

Silence fell, the only sounds being that of their steady breath, and the low hum of nearby owls.

It was then that Ventus realised how dark it really was. How the moon cast shadows on the grass, painted images of deadly monsters, of nightmarish beasts. Just weeks ago he would find his heart thundering in his chest, scared of his own childish imagination.

But now he was not scared at all.

After all, he had the stars.

"Next week Lea and I have a mission, to try and save one of his friends," Riku went on to say, "You want to come with?"

Ventus had scars on his soul. But although they would never truly go away, they would fade, and he would learn to live with them.

"Sure," he said, and for the first time since he'd awoken all those months ago, he felt light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riku and Ven are some of my favourite KH characters, so I hope I did them justice!
> 
> Up next: The Memory Witch and her Somebody


	9. The Memory Witch and Her Somebody (Kairi & Naminé)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _But Naminé was always smiling whenever Kairi visited- which was far less often then she should. Always smiling, showing off her new artwork with a twinkle in her eyes. As Kairi watched her, she felt rare anger bubble inside of her, rare anger on behalf of this beautiful girl with a crayon in her hand and stars in her eyes._
> 
> _How dare they, Kairi thought bitterly._
> 
> _How dare they say she didn't have feelings?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm not dead! Sorry for the wait, I've actually had this done for around a month but haven't gotten around to posting it. Unfortunately it's not very long, but I tried my best to give these characters the time they deserve!

"Kairi," Naminé lifted her head, blonde locks falling back into place. She smiled gently. "It's good to see you again,"

Kairi found herself fidgeting in the chair, trying hard not to stare at her surroundings. She had visited Naminé before, obviously, but she had never been able to get used to the sheer whiteness of the room. It looked more like a hospital than a child's haven, sterile and somewhat suffocating. If it wasn't for the drawings, splashes of colour plastered against the wall, Kairi would find the whole place chilling.

Naminé's sketchbook sat on her lap, a pencil clutched firmly in her hand. The sketchbook was open on its first page, and Kairi caught a glimpse of her own red hair and Sora's spikes before Naminé closed it, meeting Kairi's gaze. She wore the same outfit she always did, the same little white dress. Kairi wanted to talk to her about getting new clothes but didn't even know if that would work, or even if she'd allow it. It was a glided cage that Naminé lived in, there was no use deluding herself. But Naminé was always smiling whenever Kairi visited- which was far less often then she should. Always smiling, showing off her new artwork with a twinkle in her eyes. As Kairi watched her, she felt rare anger bubble inside of her, rare anger on behalf of this beautiful girl with a crayon in her hand and stars in her eyes.

How dare they, Kairi thought bitterly.

How dare they say she didn't have feelings?

Naminé flipped over another page, admiring the drawing adorning it with a fond gaze. Kairi craned her neck to see it.

"You should draw yourself more,"

Naminé's head snapped upwards, and Kairi flushed as she realised what she'd said.

"I mean-" she gestured awkwardly at the page she'd been looking at it. "You drew me and Sora and Riku. But you drew Roxas as well," the four of them were there, drawn in bright pastels, holding hands. "If he's there, I think you at least should be too,"

Naminé's gentle smile faltered, her gaze tearing away. "I-"

"It was just a suggestion," Kairi said quickly. A little part of her regretted even mentioning it but the other part of her, the part she was far more proud of her reassured her it was what needed to be said. "I just thought you should know. I see my own face in the mirror every day. And I see Riku and Sora's ugly mugs every second of the day," the joke fell sort of flat considering she didn't for a year, for a whole entire year, just went on with her life and forgot-"It'd be nice for a change to see you. I'm not telling you you have to do it or anything. I'd just enjoy seeing you draw something else. I really like your drawings Naminé," she smiled encouragingly at her nobody, watching as a multitude of expressions tugged at Naminé's face.

Hesitance eventually won out, Naminé's pale fingers dropping her crayon and falling to her side. "I'll-" her voice was soft, cautious, and she still wasn't meeting Kairi's eyes. "I'll think about it," she smiled shakily. "Thank you,"

Kairi couldn't shake the feeling she had done something wrong, even as Naminé picked up her crayon again to resume drawing. Kairi watched with bated breath as she flipped to a new page, surprised to see an unfamiliar figure being drawn onto it. The figure was female, with black hair. She reminded Kairi of herself a little in her physique, but she couldn't recall ever seeing her before.

"Who's that?"

Naminé looked down at her new creation, tracing over the girl's face with a finger. "This is Xion,"

"Xion?" Kairi echoed, mind searching for the name and coming up blank. "Do I know her?"

Naminé looked a little sad when she shook her head, eyes still fixed on the ground. "No," she hesitated, looked at Kairi with big blue eyes. "But she knew you,"

"She's dead, then," Kairi said, and it was a statement, not a question. She winced as soon as the words left her mouth, cursing her lack of sensitivity. "Sorry, I-"

Something in Naminé's expression faltered, the corners of her mouth turning down. "No. She's...not dead,"

Kairi allowed herself to wonder a second as to the identity of this mystery girl. Naminé's sketch had her wearing a black coat, not unlike those that the Organisation had worn. Kairi hadn't known them very well-she supposed it was entirely possible that she'd been a member. But something in that deduction didn't feel right, and nor did the melancholic expression that had overtaken Naminé's face.

"Do you want to see him again?" she changed the subject to what she had really wanted to talk about, noting Naminé's sharp intake of breath.

"But I do see him. Everyday in fact," she didn't question who Kairi was referring to. There was no point.

Kairi felt her heart clench at the response, and she set determined blue eyes on Naminé. "But you can't talk to him. You can see him through my eyes, sure, and he can see you, but that's not interaction! You deserve better than this, Naminé! I don't want you to just stay here and rot forever when there are people looking out for you!"

Silence was Kairi's only answer, Naminé's sky blues widening and shaking as if on the verge of tears. Her voice was still controlled, still painfully emotionless, but Kairi could see the liquid brimming in her eyes and knew she was showing emotion.

And then Naminé surprised her.

She smiled.

"Nobody's said anything like that to me before," she admitted. A delicate hand lifted to wipe away a tear before it could fall.

"No," Kairi found herself saying. "It's okay. Let it out,"

Naminé was a pretty crier, all controlled sobs and gentle hiccups. Until she seemed to reach a point and it all flooded out like a bursting dam, her face red with either exertion or shame, cheeks streaked with tears. Kairi didn't know how long she cried. She didn't speak, didn't move. She watched her, and when her cries had diminished to cautious snuffles she smiled brightly at her.

"Thank you," 

Naminé lifted her head, her voice steadying out as her years subsided. "You have nothing to thank me for,"

"I have everything to thank you for," Kairi reassured her. "You helped Sora wake up,"

Naminé flinched, hands tightening around her sketchbook. Tears were pooled on the pages, smudging the careful drawing. "I...I was the one who put him to sleep in the first place," she choked out, drawing in on herself.

"So?" Kairi asked. "You helped him wake up again,"

Naminé shook her head rapidly. "No, I-"

Kairi reached over to touch her hand. Naminé tensed slightly but didn't move away.

"Naminé. Nothing that happened to Sora was your fault. You were being threatened. The year he was asleep....Riku nearly lost his way. You really helped him out then, I know you did. Without you there...I think Riku would have been lost to the darkness. I never properly thanked you for that," Kairi wrapped slender fingers around Naminé's petite ones and squeezed slightly. Naminé seemed to almost melt into the small touch, shoulders shaking, but not from her tears.

"I..."

"I'm so grateful to you. Sora is as well,"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, if the way Naminé flinched was any indication. "Sora doesn't remember,"

"But he will," Kairi corrected, feeling surprisingly confident. "I promise that he will,"

Naminé shook her head, surprising Kairi. "No. It's okay, actually. This is what was meant to happen," she hesitated, and seemed to muster up her courage before meeting Kairi's eyes. "Can I...see them?"

"Of course!" the chance to help Naminé, even in the slightest, had Kairi jumping to her feet with perhaps unwarranted enthusiasm. "You can probably take over for as long as you want!" she paused. "Well...uh, my parents will probably wonder where I am..."

"It's okay," Naminé repeated, but she was smiling this time, shyly but genuinely. "I think I'll only need a minute,"

There was excitement in her movements, Kairi realised, a slight jitter and a bounce with every twitch of her fingers. She hid it well, but there was no mistaking how happy Naminé was to be able to walk again, to smell the salty sea breeze, to see Roxas, and Sora. It both warmed and tugged on Kairi's heartstrings and brought forth a multitude of emotions she didn't quite know how to handle.

"This isn't fair," Kairi declared, and at Naminé's confused expression, elaborated. "You and Roxas aren't nobodys. You're people, just like Sora and I. We'll get you real bodies, I swear. Then you won't...you won't have to ask to...to go outside! You won't have to stay locked up here like a bird in a cage! You can be free Naminé, your own person!" she was breathless, but didn't dare take a break scared she would lose her nerve. She watched Naminé closely for her reaction and felt confusion swell in her as the girl let out a light laugh. A light laugh which all at once developed into a proper laugh, a full aching belly laugh, dainty grace and shy demeanour forgotten.

Kairi just watched dumbfounded, as Naminé got to her feet, with a wide infectious smile.

"Thank you," she said, and for the first time since they'd returned, approached the room's door.

Kairi didn't make any move to encourage her. She was her own person, it was her own choice. 

Naminé opened the door and stepped outside, leaving Kairi alone in white.

Her sketchbook was open, and as Kairi peered forward she caught sight of a figure with golden hair. With golden hair and a white dress and a beautiful smile.

The sight of it made Kairi smile as well, but hers was not the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! Please don't think all too hard about how any of this is actually possible... it's for the best of everyone.
> 
> Naminé and Kairi was suggested to me by one of our loyal reviewers, Poh, (thank you very much!) please do leave reviews with suggestions. When I post I normally have the next one planned out but the ones after are probably fair game! And now that Namimé's in the mix, I'd like to open this series to more minor characters (still KH originals) like Organisation members, once I run out of combinations.
> 
> I'll be away with tentative wifi for the next few weeks so updates cannot be assured. Even if I'm unable to write however, I have quite a big backlog of KH fic unrelated to this series that I might post to fill the gap. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope that you'll be seeing an update for this fic asap!
> 
> Next time: His Lingering Will


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